Going to be honest, I don't really have a horse in this race either way beyond choosing not to play a game if I dislike the main character enough to affect my decision. (And this isn't a weight/body type thing either. I'm waiting on getting "Super Dungeon Maker" until I can see what the new character skin is, because I'm not a fan of the chicken character they've currently got)I just have to present this, though.
Let's say you have an avatar that is representative of actual human physiology, because you are that type of special individual who NEEDS to feel visually represented.
I think back to Grand Theft Auto - San Andreas. I think that game kind of handled it perfectly.
You could turn CJ into whatever you wanted to. You could have a buff tank, or a skinny toothpick. You could have a cuddly chubby bear wearing heart boxers and an eyepatch, or a suave Loc'd out G with all the drip.
It was all based on your behavior in the game, and your decisions. If you took CJ to Cluckin' Bell and fed him six family buckets of chicken, he would get fat. His stamina would drop. He would get tired more quickly. He wouldn't be able to jump over things he COULD clear if he were healthier.
You get where I am going with this. If you instead send CJ to the gym every day and eat salads, you would have a much higher natural level of stamina that would make the entire game easier for you, but you had to make sure that you ate regularly and engaged in regular exercise.
I wonder how the same butthurt gamer chicks would feel if their avatar had the same negative stats as people in actual, real life do, compared to healthy, athletic people. I mean, sure. Let's do that.
Go ahead, "Sapphire". Your avatar looks JUST like you. And has your stamina, too. Same strength level as you have, grunting when you pick up a case of Pepsi.
Good luck on your quest. Pack a lunch. We know you're packing two. Gotta eat one on the way.
I mean, you chose to play life, itself, on Hard Mode, because you don't like portion control and exercise. If you want to feel represented, let's really go for it. Maybe it will make sense to you, then.
Just wanted to say, the GTA mechanic you explained sounds absolutely brilliant. I don't play GTA, so I didn't know that was a thing, but I totally love the idea, and I've gotta steal it for an Unreal game I'm (slowly) piecing together.