Should it be OK to be obese?

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Posted at 12:30PM, 30 March 2010 by Anna Helm - New York-based food writer

Donna Simpson claims to happily weigh 600lb (43 stone). According to medical guidelines, this classifies Donna as morbidly obese. She has diabetes and cannot move more than 20 feet without her mobility scooter. You would think that this is not a situation to be OK about. You would think.

The only thing Donna seems not to be OK about is how running around after her four-year-old daughter keeps her weight down. Which is hard for Donna, because her ambition is to hold the Guinness World Record for World's Fattest Woman. To do this, Donna will have to shun the eagerly watching eyes of disease and death and gain an additional 400lb - about the weight of a silverback gorilla. 400lb is not a healthy weight for anyone, let alone someone already carrying 600lb.

To fund her 12,000-calorie-a-day diet and $750-a-week shopping bill, Donna has a website where people pay to watch her eat. In my opinion, Donna is a symptom of a very disturbing trend - that being unhealthily overweight is acceptable, even something to aim for. Movements like the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) in the US send out messages that obesity is OK, diets don't work and people should be happy with the size their body wants them to be.

Accepting obesity is to accept a whole host of life-threatening conditions

What about the overweight people who feel miserable but simply don't know how to alter their lives? Don't they deserve the right to change? Accepting obesity is to accept a whole host of life-threatening conditions that are linked to obesity, amongst which are diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Obesity kills. Fact.

Sure, the United States is a free country, but when Donna claims that she's "not harming anyone" I have to interject. For one thing, this doesn't seem like a good message to give to her children, and on a wider scale she and people like her affect all of us when it comes to healthcare and what we pay for it. Once we discovered smoking was bad for us, action was taken to make it socially stigmatised. Governments used scare-tactic adverts and heavily taxed cigarettes. Isn't it time the same happened for obesity?

As someone who suffers from hypothyroidism, a condition which has the unfortunate side-effect of weight gain, I understand that it's not always easy to be thin and frankly, not everyone wants to be as bony as Kate Moss anyway. But I'm not suggesting that everybody tries to be thin, I'm talking about being healthy - or more precisely choosing life over death.

If Donna's really happy with the fact that she's effectively strapped herself to a ticking time bomb then good for her, but there's no reason to attach an award to eating yourself to an early death.

Comments

Cassandra Amy Rose

30 March 2010, 5:56PM
Cassandra Amy Rose

I find it hard to believe that anyone would want to do that. It's absolutely ridiculous.

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Jason John

30 March 2010, 10:12PM
Jason John

I think its a great achievement as it would favour in medics as knowing the limits and be able to identify problems in the process... I would personally enjoy to know.

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Nicola

31 March 2010, 8:07AM
Nicola

It makes me feel quite sick that she thinks this is an acceptable thing to do. Its totally irresponsible, not just for her own health, but what about her child? I can't imagine she really "runs around" after the kid...I'm sure any child would rather have a parent that can actually participate in fun and games without running out of breath and putting immense strain on her body and heart. It also makes a mockery of obese people who are trying hard to lose the weight. Maybe the romanian government have got it right with their new "fat tax".

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rozmorgan

31 March 2010, 10:01AM
rozmorgan

Other peoples bodies are not your own. Worry about your own health and don't be so judgemental.

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drusilla

31 March 2010, 12:33PM
drusilla

I agree with one of the comments left on that afticle - Darwin Award please! For someone who actually WANTS to put stupidly obese amounts of weight on an already overloaded body, I hope she achieves her goal, before her poor children (the ones she allegedly 'runs round after') end up being the ones running round after her - as her carers.

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Ellie Reade

31 March 2010, 2:06PM
Ellie Reade

I cannot believe someone would want to do that to themselves. I've struggled with my weight for years and as I sit here eating my salad after walking to work this morning, doing a 2 mile walk at lunchtime, thinking about the walk home tonight.....it certainly doesn't boost the confidence or motivation to continue when there are people out there activity trying to eat themselves to an early grave. I don't want to be this way! I'm trying to do something about it! People should not encourage Donna Simpson - encourage me!!

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Nicola

31 March 2010, 2:55PM
Nicola

Maybe Rozmorgan is right and I should be less judgemental, but I just cant help it. Its one thing seeing a morbidly obese person in the street as I have no idea if this is their choice, or due to an undelying condition or medication, or if they struggle every day to lost the weight. However, in this situation, I dont see how I cant be judgemental. She is intentionally putting herself in immediate danger and she is at risk of leaving her daughter without a mother. Not to mention other effects such as strain on health services. I think she is a sad, ignorant, stupid woman and there is nothing in this story that makes me think otherwise. She is totally irresponsible. And Ellie - sounds like you are doing a good job, keep it up :-)

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suzannie

31 March 2010, 9:09PM
suzannie

I feel ill after reading this

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Mary

1 April 2010, 3:00AM
Mary

The Guiness World Record should not include this category, encouraging people to be fat.

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eye of the divine

5 April 2010, 8:52PM
eye of the divine

I think its wrong of use to judge, let her do as she wishes and if people are stupid enough to pay to watch her eat thats their problem. Personally I think its sad that today's society bases so much of its opinions on our apperances and not our capabilities.

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Eva

6 April 2010, 4:04AM
Eva

To Ellie Reade I'll encourage you! keep doing the walk to and from work, it really will help. I've started walking my dogs daily, I know a lot of people may think that's no great deal, but they don't how far, or fast, I walk with them. and I'm feeling so much better about myself because I've taken control. Re the original subject, I agree in part with most comments, we shouldn't judge but we do, organisations shouldn't encourage this kind of thing, and any parent - myself included- should put the needs of their children before something of such as selfish nature

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drusilla

6 April 2010, 12:27PM
drusilla

Just wanted to add well done Ellie! I wish I had the time to do the walking that you do - it certainly is a great way of keeping fit! (And saving on bus fares/petrol costs!) Keep it up! x

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Sopranonut

7 April 2010, 8:28AM
Sopranonut

I think this article is extremely sad. To me it sounds as if Donna must have very low self esteem if she thinks the only way she can achieve and be successful is by eating herself into an early grave. This is no different than an anorexic starving themselves to death. I feel extremely sorry for her children.

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Ellie Reade

8 April 2010, 12:16PM
Ellie Reade

A big Thank You to everyone giving me encouragement - it really helps. It is sometimes hard to walk passed the car on the driveway in the morning.....a big temptation! It doesn't seem to have had much of an effect yet...but am still trying. My work has also set up a weekly staff walk around the local park (1 mile circuit) - we've now encourgaged them to up the game to do 2 circuits during the lunchtime.

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Hannah

12 April 2010, 9:56AM
Hannah

I always find it strange how these people seem to go to extremes. Sure, the beauty standards are way too high and of course weighing 10 or 20 pounds more than your "ideal weight" doesn't automatically mean being ugly and/or unhealthy. That's the kind of "fat acceptance" I'd like to see more of, but you never do. It's always this "beautiful at any size and weight has nothing whatsoever to do with health, and everyone who says any different is just mean and discriminating". Why is that?

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jagger

21 April 2010, 8:29PM
jagger

@Ellie - keep it up! Even if you can't see the immediate effects, be assured, they are there. On contrary - I had the opposite experience, when my parking space was moved a lot closer to the office and I was lacking out on my enforced walk. Gained about 2 pounds during the first month when not changing my eating habits.... As far as Donna Simpson is concerned - I totally agree, it calls for the Darwin Award. What an efficient method to eliminate oneself from the DNA pool!

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