am 1.70 cms tall and weigh 70 kilos, not exactly the poster child of obesity, and I have been called "fat."

Yap. Me too. I'm about the same weight. Chinese, as will everyone, zero in on any imperfection. They are just much more open about talking about it. Of course to your face they will say you are handsome, and this really goes to the heads of some foreign men, but to each other they will point out anything at all wrong.

After reading some of the poster's comments about Western women, I'm starting to think that as much as they have to worry about the Chinese perception of them, there may be some or many male expats who speak much more negatively about them.

Oh well.