The piece quotes a professional observer of trends, who says that an obsessionwith getting thin is now more visible in places like China and India, among the newly aspirational middle classes.
Thailand's obsessionwith gold might be especially worrying now that neighboring countries such as China already are facing problems from falling real-estate prices.
Stuff like this also worries proponents of China's accession to the World Trade Organization, with the group's new obsessionwith online commerce and information technology.