Hefty Beauty Wins Italy’s Miss Chubby Contest

Weighing in at 189 kg (416 lb), Giovanna Guidoni is not your average beauty contest winner. But then again, Italy’s annual Miss Cicciona competition is not your average beauty contest. To compete in Miss Cicciona, which translates as “Miss Chubby”, women have to weigh more than 100 kg. Men hoping to walk off with the title of Mr Ciccione have to be at least 150 kg. This year, 40 women and five men vied for the title.

“The idea isn’t to make fun,” said Gianfranco Lazzereschi, one of the organisers of the festival, held in the Tuscan town of Forcoli. “We wanted to show that the media image of perfection -- being stick-thin -- isn’t the only way to get recognised”. The 20-year-old Guidoni crushed the competition. “Last year I came in second, but this year I was the heaviest contestant,” she said. The secret of her success? Guidoni is part-owner of a restaurant, organisers pointed out. The winner of Mr Ciccione, Fabio Teseo, saw off the competition after tipping the scales at 206 kg.