Fat fetishism also incorporates 'stuffing' and 'padding', whereas the focus of arousal is on the sensations and properties of a real or simulated gain.
[6][5] Gainers and feedees are people who enjoy the fantasy or reality of being fed and/or gaining weight themselves.
[3] While gaining and feeding are often considered fetishes, many within the gainer and feedism communities report viewing them more as a lifestyle, identity or sexual orientation.
Research has shown that the overwhelming majority of feedism relationships are fully consensual and immobility is mostly kept as a fantasy for participants.
By 1988 there were gainer-specific newsletters and in 1992, the first gainer event, called EncourageCon, was held in New Hope, Pennsylvania.