World's Heaviest woman loses 98 lbs. from marathon sex sessions!

[Southpaw]

There is a group of fetishists called "feeders" and "gainers" who gain large amounts of weight on purpose. Don't know if this woman is doing that, but it exists.

Not only do we have the Tanning Mom in NJ we also have the Feeder Mom

A mother of two from Old Bridge became a tabloid phenomenon last year after saying she was proud of her 600-pound physique, and wouldn’t mind getting bigger.

Donna Simpson capitalized on the notoriety that followed, as her internet modeling career took off and traffic increased on her website, where voyeurs could watch her eat on camera for $19 a month.

"This one man used to give me $200 a week to buy groceries," says Simpson. "He spent thousands of dollars to get me bigger. He probably thinks he wasted money, but it’s like, ‘I’m sorry guys. I can’t be your fantasy anymore.’ "

[overedge]

In highly-esteemed academic psychological circles, this phenomenon is known as a Chubby Chaser.

There was a show on TLC not too long ago about grossly overweight women. The voiceover talked about some women who make a living online by eating in front of a webcam and documenting how overweight they are getting. People have to pay to access these women's websites (which is how they make a living from it) and some of the subscribers also send the women $$$ to buy lots of food.

ETA: And I see Southpaw has found a story about one of these women.

[danceronice]

Given she was a gymnast, I wonder if there's a history of disordered eating and screwed-up metabolism that started there. The way a lot of gymnasts eat and train does permanent damage to their systems...

[heckles]

Not only do we have the Tanning Mom in NJ we also have the Feeder Mom

Must be something in the water in Yank-land. In New York you have the transgender adult baby.

"I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to have a normal life doing this."

You don't say?

[numbers123]

I'm trying to imagine what kind of man gets turned on by a 643 lb woman. I'm not saying a fat woman can't be sexy but this woman passed fat about 400 lbs ago.

I have to admit, that when I see a grossly overweight person, I have a sick feeling. I also can not look at them very long - it is very disturbing to me. But then the same can be said for person who is extremely thin.
I can't imagine anyone thinking that the overweight person or the extremely thin person as attractive. That said, I would guesstimate that the majority of the population would find the extremely thin person more acceptable in society.

I have a lot of sympathy for the son. Not only is he dressing his mother at 18 but his parents are publicly discussing their sexual habits

This. I have a fear that my children will need to care for me some day and I fear having no money to provide care if I become unable to care for myself. I would never, ever want my children to have to provide physical care like bathing, toileting, etc. for me

Yes, I do. She wasn't always that size, and admits she got bigger as she ate more, did less, and got depressed. If she has a known medical condition, I think it would have been mentioned.

But I would think that she would have elevated BP, type 2 diabetes, thyroid problems, kidney problems, and other weight related issues all of which do indirectly affect weight issues.

[heckles]

I would think that she would have elevated BP, type 2 diabetes, thyroid problems, kidney problems, and other weight related issues all of which do indirectly affect weight issues.

Maybe she deliberately avoids treatment of those issues in order to keep her weight up?

[Angelskates]

Even so society is so invested in believing that obesity is primarily an issue of willpower and choice that even obese people are convinced they "did this to themselves".

Do you believe she couldn't stop herself from eating so much? And she couldn't move or exercise at all? And she also couldn't control what she put in her mouth?

[MacMadame]

I believe that at some point in her life she became hungry all the time, never felt full when she ate, and had a stronger reaction to food than a normal weighted person. Put all that together and it would be very hard to control what she was eating. Our appetite control systems are designed to keep us alive when food is scarce. They are very strong and very hard to fight when they get whacked out.

To put it in scientific terms:

The obese have more ghrelin than normal weighted people -- from 3 to 10x as much. Ghrelin makes you hungry. Try controlling your weight when you are 10x hungrier than you should be. It's basically impossible. We're programmed to eat when we're hungry so we don't die.

Then, the obese have less leptin, a hormone that make you feel satisfied and full. Also the part of the brain that registers satiety tends to have weaker activity than in someone who is a normal weight. Again, this makes it hard to control weight. How can you "stop eating when you feel full" if you never feel full?

Also, the obese have a stronger reaction to the sight of food than a normal weighted person. So it looks tastier and is more tempting.

All of these things are well-documented by science. We know that once you have 50 pound or more to lose, that diet and exercise is almost never effective. The only people who are able to lose that kind of the weight and keep it off for more than 2-5 years are statistical outliers.

We also know that, if you change the appetite control system by having weight loss surgery, all these things go away. Ghrelin levels return to normal. Brain scans when looking at food looks like those of a normal weighted person. Patients report feeling satisfied after eating when they never felt full before.

IMO, if you can fix a problem by surgery, then it can't be only a behavioral or personal responsibility issue. There has to be a large physiological component.

In fact, while we don't know for sure what causes these physiological differences, what evidence we do have does suggest that some people are just genetically programmed to react to weight loss by regaining more than what was lost. So all the pressure on little girls to look a certain way that causes many of them to go on a diet before they are even out of elementary school is going to push some of them into obesity eventually some day.

There are also a few studies that show that the obese are more likely to have been exposed to a certain virus than the non-obese.

So we have all this scientific data that shows that there is a large genetic component to obesity, that there are many physiological causes, and that it's not simply a matter of making bad choices. Which is not to say that obese people don't also make bad choices or that there can't be someone out there who is obese who has normal ghrelin and leptin levels. But, if you look at the success rate of WLS and the failure rate of diet & exercise, you can see that they are a very small minority of the obese population. For most people, it's all physiological. You fix the body and the weight follows.

[MacMadame]

Maybe she deliberately avoids treatment of those issues in order to keep her weight up?

Having high blood pressure doesn't cause weight gain. And you can treat Type II diabetes with drugs and never lose a pound.

Not to mention, we don't know what kind of health problems she has. While weight is correlated with a lot of health problems, not everyone who is obese has health problems and there are people who aren't obese who have these health problems as well.

[Buzz]

ewww....ewww....ewww...

X 10

[my little pony]

i feel sorry for her son and also the taxpayers who are forced to foot the bill for this foolishness

[Japanfan]

The obese have more ghrelin than normal weighted people -- from 3 to 10x as much. Ghrelin makes you hungry. Try controlling your weight when you are 10x hungrier than you should be. It's basically impossible. We're programmed to eat when we're hungry so we don't die.

Then, the obese have less leptin, a hormone that make you feel satisfied and full. Also the part of the brain that registers satiety tends to have weaker activity than in someone who is a normal weight. Again, this makes it hard to control weight. How can you "stop eating when you feel full" if you never feel full?

Also, the obese have a stronger reaction to the sight of food than a normal weighted person. So it looks tastier and is more tempting.

All of these things are well-documented by science. We know that once you have 50 pound or more to lose, that diet and exercise is almost never effective. The only people who are able to lose that kind of the weight and keep it off for more than 2-5 years are statistical outliers.

Isn't this a bit like Prater Will syndrome. As I understand it, people with Prater Willie have no mechanism for appetite control all, it's completely broken.

[PrincessLeppard]

Wasn't she deliberately getting fat, though? Eating online?

[numbers123]

Prader Willi Syndrome presents in childhood (infancy)

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is the most common known genetic cause of life-threatening obesity in children. Although the cause is complex it results from an abnormality on the 15th chromosome. It occurs in males and females equally and in all races. Prevalence estimates have ranged from 1:8,000 to 1:25,000 with the most likely figure being 1:15,000.

PWS typically causes low muscle tone, short stature if not treated with growth hormone, incomplete sexual development, and a chronic feeling of hunger that, coupled with a metabolism that utilizes drastically fewer calories than normal, can lead to excessive eating and life-threatening obesity. The food compulsion makes constant supervision necessary. Average IQ is 70, but even those with normal IQs almost all have learning issues. Social and motor deficits also exist. At birth the infant typically has low birth weight for gestation, hypotonia (weak muscles), and difficulty sucking due to the hypotonia which can lead to a diagnosis of failure to thrive. The second stage (“thriving too well”), has a typical onset between the ages of two and five, but can be later. The hyperphagia (extreme unsatisfied drive to consume food) lasts throughout the lifetime. Children with PWS have sweet and loving personalities, but this phase is also characterized by increased appetite, weight control issues, and motor development delays along with some behavior problems and unique medical issues.

I've taken care of children with Prader-Willi syndrome. From this woman's description, I would guess she does not have this genetic disorder.

[Anita18]

It is well documented that the vast majority of obese people have broken appetite control systems. Even so society is so invested in believing that obesity is primarily an issue of willpower and choice that even obese people are convinced they "did this to themselves".

It partly is. She would have to be blind (and completely unaware of the physical difficulties) to not realize she was getting huge. She didn't have to go as far as to eat only salad after that point, but maybe just realized that eating 10,000 calories a day was maybe a bit much.

That's why it's so important to have some kind of support system. Someone there to say to you, "Um, you've gotten kind of crazy-nusto-heavy, and I'm worried about your health." Instead it seems like she mostly had enablers, if anyone.

When I was recovering from the stomach flu, it was very very obvious to me that I had gotten unheathily-thin, and I knew I had to make some changes to put some weight on. I guess eating more even when you're not hungry is "easier" than eating less, but it still takes effort to get to the gym to lift weights.

I'm not saying that just because I could do it, everyone can do it. (In fact I'm still pretty skinny, but have gotten to a more normal weight.) But people have to take some responsibility for their health, especially when it's so extremely unhealthy.

[hydro]

But people have to take some responsibility for their health, especially when it's so extremely unhealthy.

Just curious, would you tell that to an HIV infected person? Because the same argument was used in the 80s against treating HIV infected people -- that they did it to themselves with their immoral lifestyles.

I don't see much difference in the judgement in this thread and the kind of judgement that condemns an HIV infected person.

What is the option? Yes, it is her responsibility to seek care, but are you saying care shouldn't be offered?

[Anita18]

Just curious, would you tell that to an HIV infected person? Because the same argument was used in the 80s against treating HIV infected people -- that they did it to themselves with their immoral lifestyles.

I don't see much difference in the judgement in this thread and the kind of judgement that condemns an HIV infected person.

What is the option? Yes, it is her responsibility to seek care, but are you saying care shouldn't be offered?

Not the same as what I was arguing. Contracting HIV is something that isn't progressive. You don't suddenly find yourself 50+ lbs under/over what you weighed yesterday unless you have a life-threatening condition.

I'm saying that if you SEE yourself going downhill in a progressive manner, it should be your responsibility to get help. Cause as everyone here knows, you can't be helped unless you're willing to receive it. Even getting to the doctor is a first step, and better than nothing.

When I see people who are obese at the gym, I want to go good on you! Cause so many others don't even get that far, and getting to be so extremely obese without any intervention (ie, reaching out for help) is partly a responsibility thing. I don't anyone here would disagree.

[agalisgv]

I think one of the reasons severely overweight people don't seek out help more is because of the intense social stigmas levied at them. When people openly stare and mock a person when walking down the street, that person will start avoiding going out at all. That, of course, feeds into a more sedentary lifestyle which exacerbates the problem. Depression can set in which further isolates a person. That results in even less activity. After awhile, the only positive stimulation comes from eating. It's a vicious cycle.

One disturbing thing I read awhile back was a study that examined people's attitudes towards formerly overweight people. It's long been known that weight significantly factors into how a person is viewed morally, and that overweight people are much less likely to be hired. But what this study showed was when people learned a normal weight person was formerly fat, that person was now viewed as less attractive and having moral shortcomings because of their former weight. So the stigma becomes lifelong.

[Anita18]

I think one of the reasons severely overweight people don't seek out help more is because of the intense social stigmas levied at them. When people openly stare and mock a person when walking down the street, that person will start avoiding going out at all. That, of course, feeds into a more sedentary lifestyle which exacerbates the problem. Depression can set in which further isolates a person. That results in even less activity. After awhile, the only positive stimulation comes from eating. It's a vicious cycle.

One disturbing thing I read awhile back was a study that examined people's attitudes towards formerly overweight people. It's long been known that weight significantly factors into how a person is viewed morally, and that overweight people are much less likely to be hired. But what this study showed was when people learned a normal weight person was formerly fat, that person was now viewed as less attractive and having moral shortcomings because of their former weight. So the stigma becomes lifelong.

Really? People make no f*cking sense sometimes.

[agalisgv]

It makes sense if you think being very overweight is a sign of laziness, thoughtlessness, stupidity, and gross inconsideration. If such people are viewed as "ewwww" and "disgusting" and "grotesque", then you have to think anyone who would allow themselves to get to such a state has some inherent shortcomings. If only they had just taken responsibility for themselves when they were visibly getting overweight, it wouldn't be an issue. If you view it as a matter of personal responsibility, then it follows someone was highly irresponsible for becoming overweight, and that's a character flaw. The more overweight a person was, the more irresponsible they obviously were.

I think it's a logical conclusion if that is how you view overweight people in the first place