Most horrifying facts about obesity?

[Colourmix]

I’m obese and looking for something to really shock me into losing the weight. I know that it’s unhealthy and it can cause stroke and diabetes, but they all feel like distant far off issues and it just feels like it’s far too much work to lose weight with my mobility issues.

Does anyone know any gruesome, horrifying facts about obesity and the effect that it has on the body? We all know that fat = bad but I don’t think it’s discussed in detail nearly enough. It’s far too easy to just bury my head in the sand and convince myself that I’ve got years and years before it happens to me.

Sadly it is no longer on there, but on iPlayer, there was a program about an autopsy on an obese person.. and they outlined all the health issues it would cause.

It is on Youtube - look for "Obesity - The Post Mortem Documentary 2016"

@XenoBitch thanks, I’ll take a look now. Did the person die from an obesity related issue?

Obesity not only reduces the quantity of your life but also the quality of it sadly. In that you have fewer “healthy years”.

it also puts you at greater risk of complications even at a young age - I was shocked by how many young, obese, but otherwise “healthy” people died from covid pre-vaccine.

This feels rather brutal writing it, but hopefully it’s what you were asking for 💐

It has been a while since I watched it, so I can't remember. Might watch it again. I am obese too and could do with a reality check.

F to return

You’re significantly more likely to suffer joint damage. DH is big (very tall, about 20st) & both his knees were buggered before he hit 30. He can’t have a replacement yet as it won’t last long enough, although the doctor did say he’d benefit from replacements. He’s in pain virtually all the time, even while he’s asleep.

Also, sex is more tricky. Less viable options, position-wise.

Maybe look for some episodes of My 600-lb Life? Makes me want to reach for something healthy!

Yeah she died of heart disease/heart failure. I’m 5 minutes in and have nearly thrown up already, she’s pure yellow inside! I’m not as big as the lady from the autopsy but all my fat goes straight to my middle so I’m sure I’d look pretty similar if you opened me up🤢

This is absolutely what I was after, thank you!

I have watched a few of them and it makes me angry. So many people in denial about their health and weight.

Thanks @Barleysugar86 . I’m ‘only’ 14st so unfortunately those kinds of shows don’t bother me at all because I don’t really relate to them. I think that’s a part of the problem, everything scary you watch on tv is about astronomically huge people, there’s not much about those of us who are fat but not quite 600lbs yet.

Thanks @MudLady , that sounds awful for your DH! How long are they planning to leave him before they’ll consider replacing them for him? I have no idea if my joints hurt from my weight, because I have a silly illness that causes joint pain anyway so cant tell the difference.

Hi OP, I watched this youtube video some time ago and found it quite hard hitting without being dramatic: She speaks about her experiences of being obese (both herself and her mother) as a response to body positivity, and goes through the health and quality of life problems which can start to appear once you get up past 35 or so. Best of luck 💐

It is also fascinating in a morbid sort of way.

I did ODP (like a theatre nurse) training. It always stuck with me when we had an obese patient. An anesthetised person is pretty much a dead weight, and when you move them, their fat just jiggles all over the place like jelly. Personally, I would hate to be like that, and know that a whole team of people were watching my guts move about like jelly on a plate. And when you cut into them, the layer of fat is like sweetcorn, and loose bits can stick to your gloves.
One of the other students in my year had a patient so large, the staff went to B&Q to get parts to make a frame to hold her very large tummy out the way for her op.

The second leading cause of preventable cancers is obesity. Especially bowel cancer which is quite possibly one of the most horrible ways to die there is. Agonising pain and puking up shit. It's not even that quick either and even if it's beaten the aftermath of treatment could be having to permanently shit in a bag stuck to your abdomen with a bit of colon sewed to the outside of you.

And then with regards to diabetes, the chances of devoloping it are greatly increased but do you know what the reality of having diabetes can mean? It's not just having to monitor your blood sugar and watch your carb intake. It can be going completely blind, it can be loosing all of the sensation in your fingers and toes. Oozing ulcers on your legs and feet that smell horrendous and sometimes never heal. Multiple hospital admissions for IV antibiotics to treat the recurrent infections in those lesions. Not being able to shower for weeks or months at a time because of the dressings. Toes literally turning black and falling off (has happened while I have been changing a patients dressings). It can mean amputation of toes, feet, even whole legs.

With stroke, the chances of this happening are also increased with obesity. But people hear stroke and think 'oh yes, bad' without knowing the reality of what life post stroke can be.

For some lucky people it might be a bit of one sided weakness and maybe a bit of speech therapy.

For one woman I used to look after it was being of complety sound mind but unable to move. Muscles contracted into such a twisted position she had to have a custom wheelchair moulded to her specfifc body shape. It was unavoidable sores on her pressure areas - her back, her heels, her bum, because the shape she was in meant there was no way to give her complete relief. She was doubly incontinent, had to have every single thing that passed her lips the consistency of thick yoghurt whether that was a roast dinner or cold water on a hot day, or her cup of tea in the morning.

She couldn't tell us if she was hot, cold, in pain, hungry or thirsty because she couldn't speak or move, but she could make facial expressions so we knew she was in there somewhere.

I know these are all quite dramatic and gruesome sounding but they are also all real life examples I have witnessed.

None of the cases I mentioned above were extremely obese, just 'ordinarly fat'

Oh my days, I wish I jadmy opened this thread.

Trigger warning please.

A big risk factor for many cancers. Heart disease, diabetes, early death.

Also, when I was training and doing Obs and Gynae, and assisting with a section, it was someone's role in theatre to hold the fat back to be able to do the surgery. I always found the thought of someone having to do that made me want to avoid obesity.

Not really what you’re looking for but I personally think the most horrifying thing about obesity is how common it is and how many of us it applies to. I had to lose some weight a couple of years ago. I obviously knew I was getting a bit chunky, but to find out I was considered almost obese was a real shock. I didn’t feel I looked obese. I just looked a little bit plumper than normal. When people hear obese they think of people on those TV shows who need a fire engine to get them out of bed etc. But it’s not like that.

She couldn't tell us if she was hot, cold, in pain, hungry or thirsty because she couldn't speak or move, but she could make facial expressions so we knew she was in there somewhere.

wow. This is enough for me, starting a diet immediately. I would want to die if this happened to me, not kept alive trapped in a hell. So sad.

When obese people lose weight, their skin doesn’t shrink and they are left with huge folds of loose skin which can only be removed surgically. Naice!
This is actually more like a warning against getting obese, so when you are already obese, that’s too bad.

@SusanSHelit thank you so, so much for taking the time to write this. I’m literally in tears thinking ‘wtf am I doing to myself?’.

Does anybody know how to save a specific post? This is definitely one to come back to in a couple of weeks once the determination starts wearing off again😬

@Colourmix he doesn't know, I don't think they're given him any timescales yet. He's early 40s, it became a problem in his 20s.

Snoring is another issue. The amount of fat around the stomach can change how you breathe, especially when lying down. DH isn't even that fat, it's just all around his middle that's an issue, I can get my arms right round him easily enough. He's heavy partly due to muscle mass, he's an ex rugby player, but ironically that's not how he damaged his knees.

This is a horrible way to torture yourself OP 💐

Not related to obesity, but following on from a pp who described a stroke.

I sometimes visit people at home to do routine health checks on people who can't leave their homes.

I met a lady who had spent thousands and thousands of pounds on cosmetic surgery. Her daughter showed me the photos of her on cruises etc, gorgeous lovely lady.

When I visited her, she was bed bound after a stroke, nearly paralysed completely, and could only communicate in limited sounds and facial gestures.