"I lost weight, Pop, you notice? (Miller 35)
In today's world, there are many different ways in which children try to get attention. Some receive it through throwing tantrums, others by whining. But some children try to earn their parents' attention by doing well at something, or by impressing them. In Happy's case, he tried getting his father's attention by losing weight.
Three times during Act One, Happy asks his father this question (top). Each time, there is no response; the scene either ends or a new character enters. All of these quotes were ones from past memories though, during one of Willy's reminiscences. The reader knows that now Happy is both physically very fit and very favorable with women, so his weight was a problem of the past. But Arthur Miller was surely trying to make a point, having Happy ask the question three times. My take on it is that Happy has always been "number two" or "an afterthought" in his father's mind. The first-born son, Biff, seems to take up all of Willy's attention and thought. It's as if Willy is trying to relive his life through his son Biff. To be fair, Willy doesn't completely ignore his second son Happy, it's clear that he loves them both very much and wants them to be successful. But all of Happy's life, he has listened to his father talk about Biff as if he's some type of god. Typically when this happens in today's world, the "ignored" child might get angry and may act rashly in order to gain attention. Happy doesn't seem to mind though. He talks highly of his older brother and agrees with his father whenever Willy praises Biff. It'll be interesting to see if Happy's reaction to his brother's glamor in his father's eyes changes.
If you define success as having lots of money and a good job, then Happy became much more successful than Biff. While Biff goes around the West earning small jobs at various cattle ranches, Happy has a comfortable job in New York City where he earns a respectable wage. Maybe the reason for this is because during Biff's childhood, he didn't really need to prove anything to anybody. Everybody loved his personality and he was very popular with the girls in school, so he didn't see why he would need to work hard in order to be successful. Happy, on the other hand, didn't receive the constant praise, so he probably worked harder than Biff in order to make a bigger name for himself. This is why it's not always a good thing to have such an easy childhood. You might take it for granted, like Biff did, and regret it later in life.
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