"Overweight" has always struck me as being more judgmental than "fat" because it assumes that there's an ideal weight that you've gone over.

"Fat" just means that you're big and doesn't imply that you're not supposed to be a different weight.

At least that's how I've always looked at it.

But based upon the response I've gotten to this story, people who identify as being fat agree with you -- they'd prefer to be called "overweight."

You learn something new every day!