I guess What's Happening may have been the first. I can't think of a sitcom more recent than Married...With Children that had fat jokes on a regular basis.

According To Jim is a more recent sitcom that had it's share of fat jokes. Some at the expense of the title character but most at the expense of Andy the title characters brother-in-law.

According To Jim is a more recent sitcom that had it's share of fat jokes. Some at the expense of the title character but most at the expense of Andy the title characters brother-in-law.

Oh. I've only watched According To Jim maybe 3 times. Come to think of it The Mary Tyler Moore Show pre-dates What's Happening. I never watched The Mary Tyler Moore Show much either but from what I understand there were a considerable amount of fat jokes at Rhoda's expense on there.