Extreme Obesity

I was watching the tv program about the obesity clinic. There it showed the extremely obese individual who developed a benign tumor in a leg, which was giving a person a difficulty to move around, but it could not be removed because he was too heavy to use anesthetic. He got depressed, hence he eats more, then gains more weight.... he was in a vicious circle.

Some people try to find the easy way out, the gastric bypass surgery. It's a surgery which makes a stomach the size of a thumb. It is quite popular in this country that over 160,000 individuals had this surgery last year. Of course there is a risk of death, but if successful, a person can lose hundreds of pounds.

Unfortunately the man with a tumor wasn't convinced enough (or serious enough) to lose his weight for surgery. He didn't care if he was obese. But, no weight loss, no surgery. So he chooses an amputation over losing weight.

The program concludes that he may finally get rid of his tumor by amputation, but he may someday die from obesity.

Not only him, many individuals don't feel necessary to lose weight at all no matter how big they are. They don't see how irresponsible it is to their own bodies. Even after they start having some diseases, they think 0nly a treatment is necessary, not weight loss.

I'm sure many things are contributing to this epidemic in america. The foods, the culture, the society, the tradition... but after all, it's own determination and responsibility. This sounds harsh and hard, but in another look, it's liberating to think that we are in control of our own destiny..