Modern Family, is it better to ignore Manny's weight, or show more "realism?"

I really love Modern Family. It just makes me laugh. One character, Manny, is chubby. As someone who believes in the Health At Every Size model, and working with children and families who often have food and weight worries, I have a bit of a dilemma. Manny is a quirky character. He sips coffee, is mature beyond his years, writes poetry for the ladies, and never, is his weight mentioned. Never does he come home in tears or silent because of bullying, the girls he pursues don't tease him because of his weight, his size zero aunt and cousin never lecture Manny or his parents about health, food choices or size. No one is slipping his mother articles about childhood obesity or recommending he get checked for diabetes, he isn't harassed about green-light foods... It just isn't an issue. (Of note, his uncle Cam's occasional dieting attempts have been fodder for the show.)So, my question is, is it better that he is just a kid and it doesn't come up, or would it be better to show how the reality of life as a chubby kid (not always very pleasant if you've seen the stats on weight-related bullying, oh, and there's that little war to eradicate them...) can be handled in a positive way. Do we want "reality" in our comedy? Does not making his weight an issue help chubby kids see that weight doesn't define them, or does it dismiss their reality?Tell me what you think...Then...  read the excerpts below that I got from USA Weekly (you know, the magazine in the Sunday paper) kid health report from last year. While his weight never comes up on the show, my guess is it comes up on the set... The kid stars from the show were asked to comment on childhood obesity. My comments are in red...Rico Rodriguez, 11, took one look at himself on the program's pilot and decided he didn't like what he saw. "I didn't like my stomach bulging out," says Rico, who plays O'Neill's stepson, Manny. "I looked fat." A few months ago, he cut back his food portions and started walking every day after work with his 16-year-old sister and his mom. He already has dropped two pants sizes -- going from an 18 to a 14 -- while still enjoying his favorite foods, "regular kid stuff like burgers and spaghetti."Is it fair to open this kid up to scrutiny on his weight? (I even feel a little sheepish writing this post...) I found myself reading this and feeling really sorry for him. He hasn't appeared to  have lost any weight this last year, and is he "healthy?" I don't know, but it just felt so somehow doomed. When kids feel bad about themselves and limit portions, try to diet, it usually backfires. Maybe he made some changes that make him feel better and make him more fit, I don't know, but setting it up  weight as the indicator of health sets him up for failure.  It is also common to see early "progress"- already lost two pant sizes! and then see it stall or even regain the weight. Hey, ya know, when Kirstie Allie does it, she consents, she's an adult, I feel sad for her, but this  is a kid. Oh, and kids shouldn't be giving kids advice on eating or activity...Nolan Gould, also 11, is a self-styled nutrition expert. He knows the fat and fiber content of everything he eats. "I know the limit of what I should intake," says Nolan, who plays Luke. An avid athlete, he surfs, rides bikes and is learning how to rappel down cliffs.Again, kids are not experts, and this guy sounds borderline disordered. Why should an 11 year-old know the fat and fiber content of everything and talk about limits!? Are we crazy, or what!?Ariel Winter, who plays Alex, touts her healthy habits, too. "I love peas," says Ariel, 12. "I could eat them every day of the week." Ariel rides her bike and walks around the studio lot every day on a break from shooting. "It's not that I am into the thin thing," she says. "I just like to do it because it gives me time to myself, and I can think."Sheeesh, this is getting old. Why do kids have to tout healthy habits. Can't they just be kids? "Touting healthy habits," to taunting others' "unhealthy" habits is not a big leap...There has to be a junk-food junkie in the cast, right? That would be 18-year-old Sarah Hyland, who plays Haley. She stays slim despite her fondness for burgers and pizza. She weighs 90 pounds and wears a size 0."You don't even want to know what I eat!" Sarah says. But she wouldn't mind gaining a few pounds. "If I had a curvier body, I would love that."This is the classic skinny girl who eats whatever she wants. If it's true, good for her I suppose, but come on. If all we're talking about is weight (which is all we ever talk about it seems culturally), she's the "healthiest." And, some weight would be OK, as long as it were boobs I'm guessing.Anyway, thank you for indulging again. It's just so wacky, that if it weren't all contributing to our collective insanity around eating and body image it would be so absurd it might even seem funny...Where to begin?BTW, I am having my tonsils out tomorrow, so I will be out of commission for the rest of the week, but I'll try to comment when I can :)