World's Largest Man

[dobermum]

Have you seen this on Home & Health......yikes I feel thiiiiiinnnnn

 

[CadenceAlex]

Is he massive?

It is sad that people can get into that state, surely there must be someone out there who cares enough about this person?

 

[dobermum]

He's huge....but they are doing something about it...special diet and then surgery...hasn't been out of bed in 5 years...shame....he has a bonny face.

 

[CadenceAlex]

He's huge....but they are doing something about it...special diet and then surgery...hasn't been out of bed in 5 years...shame....he has a bonny face.

I am not watching it... but for a man to have been stuck in his bed for 5 years is neglect!!!

Someone should have done something about this far sooner.... not decided to help him five years down the line then exploit the poor bloke by showing it on Sky Televison.

 

[melissaq]

I'm sorry ...maybe I'm cold hearted.....I don't feel sorry for people like this....who forced him to shovel that twinkie down his throat to begin with?....he is to blame for starting the road to being unhealthy.....and his family/loved ones should not have helped encourage him......now he is so overweight he cannot get out of bed.......shame on them for putting up with his behavior that got him into this mess!.....( I seen an interview with him once and he admitted it was from overeating in the beginning) now he is REALLY sick and MUST lose weight .......nothin like being told your going to die early to get you to lose some weight......

 

[CadenceAlex]

I'm sorry ...maybe I'm cold hearted.....I don't feel sorry for people like this....who forced him to shovel that twinkie down his throat to begin with?....he is to blame for starting the road to being unhealthy.....and his family/loved ones should not have helped encourage him......now he is so overweight he cannot get out of bed.......shame on them for putting up with his behavior that got him into this mess!.....( I seen an interview with him once and he admitted it was from overeating in the beginning) now he is REALLY sick and MUST lose weight .......nothin like being told your going to die early to get you to lose some weight......

I think that is very unfair - obese people get in situations like this because of quite possibly an illness... unhealthy food associations.. overeating must surely be classed as an illness? Same as alcohol abuse, drug abuse....people have vices... I can eat a whole strip of Twix's when in the mood.... yet I don't do this daily.... when feeling low or sorry for myserlf, I can eat every sweet thing in the cupboard. Can you imagine feeling that low about yourself that you do this every single day, leading to becoming seriously overweight?

... Alocholics go to AA Anyonymous... they have an illness too, they just don't get fat. They gat a pat on the back when they don't have a drink, same as Drug addicts and Gamblers.

If this bloke were an alcoholic out shouting the odds in the streets... he'd be hoisted off into a Psychiatric unit.... or put in a Rehab centre eventually... and no doubt damn sooner than 5 years down the line.

This bloke chose to overeat and now look at the mess he's in? He chose to do it in the privacy of his own home. I am sorry, but nobody deserves to be so crippled by something like this. There must be a root to the problem. It is neglectful of society to leave a man in this situation without offering an Olive Branch to help.

OK, I don't know of all the facts.... so he admits he overeats. Does he seem pleased that he hasn't got out of bed in 5 years, or no doubt has every conceivable problem that would be associated with his size... i.e Pressure sores... strain on his heart and joints...

I don't think so.

 

[Sassy Hassy]

I couldn't agree more Caroline! Obesity is an illness of the mind, just like bulimia, anorexia, depression, and so on. I really think it is unfair to judge someone like that unless you walk in their shoes. I know when I feel down I comfort eat and I am sure that that is how obesity starts.

How many people on this forum try diets, saying they want to lose a couple of stone but don't have the will power to do it and give up? ... I dont see any difference with this man, or any seriously obese people, or anyone trying to lose weight. We know we should eat less, but something drives us on to "just have one more" and what is so sad in these serious cases is that they know they are slowly killing themselves and they will die young, probably having lived one hell of an unhappy and persecuted life.

I do however agree that I blame the family, if he can't get out of bed then they are the ones who are feeding him and helping kill him... but very easy for me to sit and judge from the outside with no experience of this whatsoever.

 

[BABSann]

I agree with Caroline on this,my friend has terrible problems with her weight and I have tried so hard to help her.It isn't easy for her or anyone with weight issues,they dont choose to be obese(once it's got to this stage it's a damned hard situation to get out of)

Its not something that people choose to do and I feel for people with any type of dependency like this.Also quite often bad habits are picked up from being a child,i.e mother over feeding them so it's not exactly black and white and it's not fair to say he decided to go down the unhealthy road because quite probably he didn't make that decision at all.

Also lets not forget the gene that they have now found.

They need help and compassion.

p.s lots of obese people are told they will die if they dont do something and they still dont stop,why????.....because they cant stop cause it's an illness.

 

[JDs]

I have a very close dear friend that is right now sitting in the hospital recovering from colon surgery.
He is 510 lbs. He is a very active person, goes to work everyday, goes to his sons karate lesson and performances, rides his harley motorcycle. What I am getting at is that he is Not one to sit around in front of the TV and stuff himself with high calorie foods.

He has fought his weight gain for as long as I have known him.
Yes he was thin back when he was into drugs. but once he got himself cleaned up, a respectable job at Microsoft, going to church and got married with two boys, the weight started to come on. Doctor recommended diets. Healthy well balanced meals. And still his weight climbed until he is where is he today, in the hospital because his colon erupted and seeped out into his system which caused septic.
Once he gets over this surgery, he will be going in for a lapban.

My point on this is that not all people have uncontrollable weight gain because they stuff their face with twinkies while watching Dr Phil in the afternoons.

 

[nailzoo]

Not many put on weight without stuffing the calories in to support it.

Calories in - calories burnt makes you what you are ..... simple maths.

Exercise is the key, there's an obese child syndrome going on in the world as we speak, this is due to kids sitting in front of computers and not exercising, when I was a kid, I was always outside playing, walking, riding, running (accidentally exercising) these days sit on there asses in front of the tele or a computer.

You only need to watch Biggest Loser to see what is possible with diet & exercise.

No point whinging when they have to remove your windows and call in a forklift to get you out of bed. It takes quite a bit of time of self abuse to get in this situation. Of course I sympathise, but I prefer to admire someone that does something about it before it becomes a "dire situation".

It's self control, some don't have that control, but as per, the media will always show the worse case scenarios.

 

[HappyHands]

This is a subject that does get me going...

I do feel really sorry for these sort of people who have an addiction and no body helps them.. BUT....

For those people who have no will power (I for one) and whos family and friends don,t help them except by shoving more and more down there necks I do not.. There is a time when you can say stop or know you have a problem but just cant be bothered to do anything about it.. or when they say its a gene and it not what they are eating ( when you have seen them eat barrel loads of junk food).
I have been watching half ton hospital and alot of those people in there have taken the first step but seem to have stopped and cant be bothered to take any more..
We would all love to be able to sit and scoff our faces with junk and never gain any weight or have to exercise to burn of those callys,, but we all know that that is never gonna happen,
So although i sound like i blame them (partly i do) but if it is proved it is a ill ness (glands or whatever) and not pure greadyness then i have sympathy but for all those little piggys out there, nope sorry none.

 

[JDs]

Not many put on weight without stuffing the calories in to support it.

Calories in - calories burnt makes you what you are ..... simple maths.
Not always. Take me for instance. I am 5'1....105lbs. When I was younger, I weighed a mere 85-90 lbs. Could not for the life of me gain weight. Went to the doctor wanting a diet to Gain Weight. He laughed.
I have a very high metabolism. I eat high calorie foods just to keep my weight up above 100 lbs. Yes I am a rare case. The only way that I got to 105 today is because my metabolism slowed down a wee bit due to age. Took me 45 years to put weight on.
I am one of the lucky ones.
Exercise is the key, there's an obese child syndrome going on in the world as we speak, this is due to kids sitting in front of computers and not exercising, when I was a kid, I was always outside playing, walking, riding, running (accidentally exercising) these days sit on there asses in front of the tele or a computer.
yes, the children of today are entertained by relaxed activities. Who's fault is that?

You only need to watch Biggest Loser to see what is possible with diet & exercise.
Once again..bull! Not always the case. My sister is 5'2 and is overwieght. She is more active than I am. She goes to the gym, she does aerobics, she rides bikes and hikes in the mountain. She is also constantly having to watch what she eats. But still she is about 50 lbs over wieght.

No point whining when they have to remove your windows and call in a forklift to get you out of bed. It takes quite a bit of time of self abuse to get in this situation. Of course I sympathise, but I prefer to admire someone that does something about it before it becomes a "dire situation".

It's self control, some don't have that control, but as per, the media will always show the worse case scenarios.

Alot of the time it is medical issues as with my friend. The drugs he did basically shut down his thyroid, he was put on thyroid meds , then something else in his body went bad.

so you can't say..this is what causes that person to be overweight. Everyone is different.

 

[ValencianNails]

A heck of a lot of people have some form of depression which they respond to by comfort eating, that comfort eating then turns into habitual eating because the stomach stretches and then allows more food to be consumed before the eater feels 'full'.

It eventually becomes a vicious circle and before you know it the person has put on a lot of weight, feels more depressed due to being overweight and then starts to comfort eat more than before, and so the cycle goes on.

The vicious circle is no different to that of a drug addict, a person takes drugs, likes the way it makes them feel, knows it's bad for them but can't stop taking it, then becomes a serious addict.

There's usually a good reason for someone being overweight and if that reason is depression related then it goes a lot deeper than just calories, it is a case of hard work from both parties, the patient and also those who are trying to help.

 

[Good Skin Day]

Originally Posted by nailzoo
Not many put on weight without stuffing the calories in to support it.

Calories in - calories burnt makes you what you are ..... simple maths.
Not always. Take me for instance. I am 5'1....105lbs. When I was younger, I weighed a mere 85-90 lbs. Could not for the life of me gain weight. Went to the doctor wanting a diet to Gain Weight. He laughed.
I have a very high metabolism. I eat high calorie foods just to keep my weight up above 100 lbs. Yes I am a rare case. The only way that I got to 105 today is because my metabolism slowed down a wee bit due to age. Took me 45 years to put weight on.
I am one of the lucky ones.
Exercise is the key, there's an obese child syndrome going on in the world as we speak, this is due to kids sitting in front of computers and not exercising, when I was a kid, I was always outside playing, walking, riding, running (accidentally exercising) these days sit on there asses in front of the tele or a computer.
yes, the children of today are entertained by relaxed activities. Who's fault is that?

You only need to watch Biggest Loser to see what is possible with diet & exercise.
Once again..bull! Not always the case. My sister is 5'2 and is overwieght. She is more active than I am. She goes to the gym, she does aerobics, she rides bikes and hikes in the mountain. She is also constantly having to watch what she eats. But still she is about 50 lbs over wieght.

No point whining when they have to remove your windows and call in a forklift to get you out of bed. It takes quite a bit of time of self abuse to get in this situation. Of course I sympathise, but I prefer to admire someone that does something about it before it becomes a "dire situation".

It's self control, some don't have that control, but as per, the media will always show the worse case scenarios.


Alot of the time it is medical issues as with my friend. The drugs he did basically shut down his thyroid, he was put on thyroid meds , then something else in his body went bad.

so you can't say..this is what causes that person to be overweight. Everyone is different.

Metabolism does vary from person to person, and does have a lot to do with age, but it doesn't vary that much that two people of the same height who eat exactly the same thing can end up with one of them at, say, 150lbs and the other at 350lbs.

I find it slightly distasteful to use the following as an example, but in certain parts of the world where starvation occurs, or food is merely thin on the ground, you don't see some people significantly heavier than others, because of 'metabolism' or some other physical condition.

What is your sister using to create her ideal weight, that is putting her at 50lb overweight? Because if she is using BMI and is as active as you say she is, the majority of her extra weight will be down to muscle mass, as muscle is denser than fat. I've been told by my doctor that I shouldn't use BMI as an indication of healthy weight, because of this reason, even though I'm in the middle of the healthy weight range for BMI anyway.

I do feel sorry for people who self-abuse to such an extent, as much as I feel sorry for drug addicts and alcoholics and smokers, who just feel they can't stop themselves.

 

[vicky]

I think untill we have walked in someone shoes you can not judge them. Some of you mite know that i have had a Lap Band and i nearly cost me my life, im truly lucky to still be here BUT i am a percentage that the band isnt working for...just my luck ! lol
I think food it a totally different ball game, people say about will power but when you have to eat food its abit harder then just never having it again.
I have given up smoking, i never have to smoke again and i try not to be around ppl that smoke but i will alway have to eat...its not as easy as some think...and Carl i know you think its just will power and exercise i wish it was that easy. I hope you never have a addiction, if i drank or took drugs i would have got so much more help and not judge by others as just being lazy or no will power.

 

[JDs]

Metabolism does vary from person to person, and does have a lot to do with age, but it doesn't vary that much that two people of the same height who eat exactly the same thing can end up with one of them at, say, 150lbs and the other at 350lbs.

I find it slightly distasteful to use the following as an example, but in certain parts of the world where starvation occurs, or food is merely thin on the ground, you don't see some people significantly heavier than others, because of 'metabolism' or some other physical condition.

What is your sister using to create her ideal weight, that is putting her at 50lb overweight? Because if she is using BMI and is as active as you say she is, the majority of her extra weight will be down to muscle mass, as muscle is denser than fat. I've been told by my doctor that I shouldn't use BMI as an indication of healthy weight, because of this reason, even though I'm in the middle of the healthy weight range for BMI anyway.

I do feel sorry for people who self-abuse to such an extent, as much as I feel sorry for drug addicts and alcoholics and smokers, who just feel they can't stop themselves.

My sister as active as she is..is overwieght. Ask her...ask her doctor. Her body fat % rate is higher than it should be. Her body stores fat cells more than mine does. It all comes down to how the body reacts to fat..trans fats etc.
When she was younger, she was on these yo yo diets..that in the long run will screw up your metabolism. You rob your body of fat and calories and then when you start introducing them back into your diet, the body will store them just in case it is deprived again.

in certain parts of the world where starvation occurs, or food is merely thin on the ground, you don't see some people significantly heavier than others, because of 'metabolism' or some other physical condition.

You don't??

What I am trying to say, is that you can not judge everyone as in the same boat as it seemed that Nailzoo was doing.

 

[Sassy Hassy]

There is also an illness that your brain does not register that you are full and so you feel permanently hungry and so want to eat all the time. There was a programme about it a while ago and the family were literally frightened of one young lad as he had so much weight behind him and was very violent if he didn't get his own way. All the examples they gave in the programme were so desperately sad.

 

[CadenceAlex]

There is also an illness that your brain does not register that you are full and so you feel permanently hungry and so want to eat all the time. There was a programme about it a while ago and the family were literally frightened of one young lad as he had so much weight behind him and was very violent if he didn't get his own way. All the examples they gave in the programme were so desperately sad.

Prada Willies syndrome?

This is so tragic - they just want to eat and eat and the abuse they must suffer growing up... the emotional abuse from Narrow-minded people calling them 'fat' and making comments about them 'shoving things down their throats'.

A true illness associated with weight is not amusing. It is a bit different from the size 16/18 person who knows they are overweight eating that second helping of cheesecake because they feel like it and knowing it's not good for their hips... people like that have a CHOICE. They know when to eat and they know when to abstain. This is obviously missing in some people for either a Medical reason, or a Mental reason.

 

[melissaq]

I couldn't agree more Caroline! Obesity is an illness of the mind, just like bulimia, anorexia, depression, and so on. I really think it is unfair to judge someone like that unless you walk in their shoes. I know when I feel down I comfort eat and I am sure that that is how obesity starts.

How many people on this forum try diets, saying they want to lose a couple of stone but don't have the will power to do it and give up? ... I dont see any difference with this man, or any seriously obese people, or anyone trying to lose weight. We know we should eat less, but something drives us on to "just have one more" and what is so sad in these serious cases is that they know they are slowly killing themselves and they will die young, probably having lived one hell of an unhappy and persecuted life.

I do however agree that I blame the family, if he can't get out of bed then they are the ones who are feeding him and helping kill him... but very easy for me to sit and judge from the outside with no experience of this whatsoever.

I'm not judging anyone....I simply said I don't feel sorry for them....I understand things can happen and addiction do occur....but when you eat so much you can't get out of bed....and at least use the loo.....there has to be some inner voice saying ..' somethings wrong get help' .....and his family/loved ones should have helped him get the help he needed before he became so bed ridden...I know if one of MY family members were like this weather they wanted the help or not SOMETHING would have been done....

 

[CadenceAlex]

I'm not judging anyone....I simply said I don't feel sorry for them....I understand things can happen and addiction do occur....but when you eat so much you can't get out of bed....and at least use the loo.....there has to be some inner voice saying ..' somethings wrong get help' .....and his family/loved ones should have helped him get the help he needed before he became so bed ridden...I know if one of MY family members were like this weather they wanted the help or not SOMETHING would have been done....

So who do you feel sorry for? What kind of person, in a particular situation, makes you feel really bad for them?

This guy deserves some bloody sympathy because he has had no life for 5 years... regardless of how he got into that state... this is another Human being we are talking about... someone who has a brain, could be intelligent... someones son... someones brother or sister... someone who has been lying in an awful state whilst we've all been taking for granted what it is like to be able to jump out of bed every morning.

Cancer is an illness... as debilitating as this and it also kills.

AIDS is an illness... which also kills.

Obesity is an illness which is also killing

Alcohol abuse is killing people... another illness

Drug abuse.... also an illness

There is alot more stigma attached to Mental illness and alot less sympathy for those sufferers. How sad.


Did anyone read about the Obesity Gene recently.. how Scientists have proved that some people will just constantly struggle to shift the weight because they have inherited this Gene?