the Informer

Obesity in America is an ever-pressing issue that I consistently hear and read about in the news. According to a news segment on CBS in January, nearly 190 million Americans are considered overweight or obese. Diabetes and heart disease are just two of the results of obesity. And yet, despite all of this, there are still Americans who are trying to be obese.

Prime example: Donna Simpson of Old Bridge, N.J. Currently, she weighs 600 pounds. Simpson is consuming 12,000 calories a day in hopes to one-day weigh 1,000 pounds.

I bet you’re asking the same question I am: Why? Why would you want to weigh 1,000 pounds?
Simpson already holds the Guinness World Record as the world’s fattest mom. She has a two-year-old daughter, and she says it may be difficult for her to gain the weight she wants because she’s always chasing after her.

It sounds sick, absolutely sickening. And her interviews make it even worse. In an interview with London’s Daily Mail she said, “My favourite food is sushi, but unlike others I can sit and eat 70 big pieces of sushi in one go.” Seventy?

Simpson can barely walk 20 feet without needing to sit down. She spends over $750 on groceries every single week according to the Huffington Post. “I love eating and people love watching me eat,” Simpson said according to Fox News. “It makes people happy, and I’m not harming anyone.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the risk of coronary heart disease, type-2 diabetes, hypertension and stroke increase with obesity and excessive weight gain. Overweight and obese individuals are more likely to have liver and gallbladder disease, sleep apnea and respiratory problems, osteoarthritis and certain types of cancers.

Despite all of these concerns and health risks, Simpson still wants to weigh 1,000 pounds. She makes money by appearing on a Web site where men pay to watch her eat and wear a bikini.

I just don’t get it. I really can’t comprehend why people go to these extremes. A few weeks ago, I wrote about the other end of the size spectrum: the too-small, unobtainable ideal of the fashion industry. Now this?

How is it possible that our country focuses so much of our attention on weight?

Living a healthy lifestyle isn’t hard to do. It’s also the best way to live a longer life. You run less risk of dealing with a lot of these health issues, and you avoid a lot of complications and hospital bills.

Our country continues to promote these unhealthy and extreme lifestyles. The men who pay to watch her eat are just as guilty as the modeling agencies and designers who tell some girls that they are too fat.

So how do we break this cycle? Can we break this cycle? Or are we simply stuck?

I don’t think there is a way that we can convince a woman like Simpson or a woman with a distorted body image that they are slowly killing themselves. It’s not something that they would be willing to hear.

A healthy lifestyle is something we must continue to instill in the coming generations. Childhood obesity and eating disorders are becoming more and more commonplace.

It’s something that we, the young adult generation, could try and amend. Perhaps we can continue to try and change how Americans view weight.