Oh no, too much information!!

[Mr T.]

Originally Posted by Porg

Well yes, but no one helped her to lose weight or deal with her obvious problem. For someone to get that size, it isnt just over eating, there has to be something behind it - be it psychological or physiological. Just to say someone has eaten too much isnt enough.

No one 'helped her lose weight'!! Oh come on. Maybe if she'd not spent all day watching Jerry Springer et al and ordering home-delivered Domino's Pizza and gone out for run, or gone down the gym instead.....?

Whilst your claim is highly debatable - someone sure helped her shovel a cart-load of nosebag down her neck (and I'm guessing she didn't try and prevent them doing so), and I suppose that's 'someone else's fault' too? Bollocks: that's the 'Princess Diana' approach where everyone's a 'victim'. Tea and sympathy and wandering out with psychobabble like "oh, I feel your pain" would not have saved this women. Her taking the initiative (and perhaps some exercise) might have stood a chance.

Unless this lady didn't have the power of speech, or she had no cognitive abilty to ask for help, the responsibility for getting to a state where your skin conjoins/fuses with the very fabric of the couch to which you have confined yourself, through eating and taking no exercise whatsoever, and reducing yourself to the condition where you can't even go to the toilet, has to be laid firmly at this woman's door.

Getting yourself into this state is down to the individual and his/hers lack of will power to prevent it - rather like being an alcoholic or a smoker. The desire and abillity to change your condition lies with yourself - the 'tea-n-sympathy' route is providing precisely the convenient (yet counterproductive) support crutch which e.g. alcoholics/smokers/obese people crave the most: a sympatheic audience; and one which 'listens' whilst their condition materially worsens.

I think we can agree that when the emergency services have to remove a wall of your house in their attempts to remove you from the house, in which you're bound, then YOU'VE done something wrong.

[Helen F H]

Too damned right. I hate it when people who are "normal" lecture me on how to lose weight.
I know it aint easy, by god i have tried everything under the sun.

[JAG]

She wasn't fat, just big boned!

[Helen F H]

I would love to see bren trying to talk a suicide down:

"STOP BEING A VICTIM"
"YOU HAVE ONLY YOURSELF TO BLAME"

Just playing bren.

I think people miss the point that she was obviously mentally ill, and so probably was the person who kept on feeding her.

[Mr T.]

Originally Posted by Porg

I think people miss the point that she was obviously mentally ill, and so probably was the person who kept on feeding her.

Sorry Porg,

from the meagre 'evidence' we read in Dom's piece, I saw nothing conclusive or suggestive which might have led me to share your conclusion.

Alas, events such as these are all to common in the US - and the vast majority have nothing to do with being 'metally ill': they are, invariably, just down to the person being a lard arse with no will power.

[Helen F H]

So food addiction (which does exist, like it or not), does not warrant treatment?
Why do you think people get their stomachs stapled, their jaws wired? For the fun of it?

[angleseydiver]

I'm sure I saw a programme recently about Pervs who get a kick out of this sort of thing- "forcefeeding" a "willing" victim to the point they're totally dependant. As sick as the cannibal one recently. What's the world coming to? Or do I just watch the wrong Telly?



Terry

[Helen F H]

Yep thats true. Didnt see the prog, but have heard about it. Im sure there is a fair size chunk of cyber space dedicated to it.

[Mr T.]

Originally Posted by Porg

So food addiction (which does exist, like it or not), does not warrant treatment?
Why do you think people get their stomachs stapled, their jaws wired? For the fun of it?

Look Porg, I'm sure I don't need to tell you that being fat/obese in the US has been elevated to a national sport (and something in which they excel) - on the current 'evidence' in Dom's piece, in my mind, this is just another case.

'Food addiction'?! Yeah, that's right up there with 'Attention Span Deficit Disorder' and 'Lack of New Toys Syndrome'. Strange that none of these, ahem, 'conditions' are found in Third World countries.

[aclivity]

Originally Posted by Bren Tierney

'Lack of New Toys Syndrome'

A dreadful condition. One that seems to be both exacerbated and treated by becoming a diver.