What kind of symbolic meaning is there if a character in a novel is obese?

The character moved from Mexico to the United States and doesn't speak any English. She is very overweight and people in the town start rumors that she doesn't leave her apartment because she is to fat. She doesn't like being in the United States because she loves Mexico and its culture. She is only in the U.S. for her husband. What could her obesity say about her symbolically?