By Carolyn E. Price.
I put this under health but the heading should read Unhealthy!
Let me introduce you to Manuel Uribe. Manual lives in beautiful, sunny Monterrey, Mexico. But Manuel does not see the sun nor climbed the beautiful mountains that surround Monterrey ever. You see, Manuel hasn't left his bed or his apartment in five years. That's because less than a year ago, at 1,200 pounds, he was considered by many to be the heaviest man in the world.
"I had an obesity problem for many years, a very significant one. I was gaining and gaining weight. I was on every diet you can imagine," Uribe said. Note the past tense use of "had" an obesity problem. Uribe is considered to be beyond the kind of overweight that comes from fast food and lack of exercise. Doctors call it morbid obesity.
The National Institutes of Health describes obesity as a person weighing 20 percent or more than he or she's ideal body weight. It is known that obesity is a health risk. Morbid obesity is something completely different. It is sometimes called "clinically severe obesity," and it means you're 100 pounds or more over ideal body weight, with a body mass index of 40 or higher.
Manuel is on a diet right now, he's following The Zone. He now weighs 800 pounds. He still can't stand on his own and he spends his days in a special industrial-size bed.
"I used to eat normal, just like all Mexicans do. … Beans, rice, flower tortilla, corn tortilla, French fries, hamburgers, subs and pizzas, whatever regular people eat. I worked as a technician, repairing typewriters, electronic calculators and computers. So I worked on a chair. It was a sedentary life," he said.
When you suffer from morbid obesity, you don't gain weight like one normally does. Brain chemistry, genetic mutation, addiction, psychological pain -- or an unhappy combination of all of them -- makes morbid obesity one of the biggest mysteries of medicine.
Dr. Jaime Gonzalez comes to see Manuel once a week to monitor his condition. Dr. Gonzalez's goal is to help his patient lose 1,000 pounds. Manuel's legs and lower body are massaged each day to improve his blood circulation.
"Our main concern currently [are] his lower extremities," Gonzalez said. "There are large volumes because of the amount of fluids retained here."
Uribe says he is in good health despite the extra weight. "Yes, I have accumulated fat, but I'm healthy," he said. "I don't have sugar, cholesterol, triglycerides, diabetes or high blood pressure. My heart works perfectly fine."
"We don't have an explanation," Gonzalez said.
OMG ... this is the perfect example of "gross". I hope this man makes it to his goal but I wonder just what his skin is going to look like? Talk about stretch marks!
