Gold's Gym and McKinney are making war on "cankles," a slang term for how an overweight person's calves don't narrow at the ankle. Gold's is ramping up efforts to warn consumers about this aesthetic affliction (which is, ironically enough, outpacing "muffin tops" and "saddlebags" as the No. 1 bathing-suit killer in America) with direct mail and a Web site, Say No to Cankles, where there's a contest in which people vote on who has the best legs in Hollywood. While the fitness chain considers this a fun, lighthearted way to tell people to get in shape, making fun of people's specific body parts for aesthetic reasons and then comparing them to celebrities who can afford nutritionists and personal trainers isn't really going to help. There's a line between highlighting obesity's health risks and flat-out ridiculing fat people. Getting rid of the celebrity stuff and the tacky Facebook applications will put Gold's Gym on the right side of it.

—Posted by David Kiefaber