Donna Simpson: Plus-Sized Advocate or Publicity Hog?

Donna Simpson, the lady who wishes to enter the Guinness Book of World Records as the World’s Heaviest Woman currently weighs 600+ pounds and has a BMI of at least 104. She can’t walk for more than 20 feet without the help of her heavy duty scooter. Yet, she claims to be perfectly healthy. Her diet resembles that of Michael Phelps, a champion swimmer and 14-times Olympic gold medal winner. Her ultimate goal is to weigh 1000 pounds, which translates into a BMI of 172, and earn the Guinness Book of World Records’ title of The World’s Fattest Woman.

Your BMI (Body Mass Index) is a numerical way of estimating your obesity related health risks by taking into account your weight in relationship to your height.  In order to put Donna Simpson’s physical stats in perspective consider this: A BMI of 18.5 – 24.9 is considered normal, a BMI of 25 – 29.9 is considered overweight, a BMI of 30 – 34.9 is considered obese, and a BMI over 35+ falls under the category of morbid obesity.

So, what? According to recent statistics an estimated 30% of the U.S. adult population is considered obese. What sets Donna Simpson’s case apart is that she is deliberately gaining weight in order to gain fame. She obviously does not care about the psychological impact of this act on her family, especially her three year old little girl; nor does she seem to care about the health consequences of her obesity.

Donna Simpson is a selfish publicity hog who will stop at nothing to gain her fifteen minutes of fame.

So, what exactly is Donna Simpson doing to herself and her family?

• Donna Simpson admits that she eats mostly junk food. So, what do you think her three year old daughter is eating? Yup! You guessed it….Junk food!

• In my Feb 7, 2010 post titled, “America is not Sexy in the Bedroom” I talk about Sleep Apnea being one of the more common health problems most obese individuals encounter. By weighing well over 600 pounds Donna Simpson has left herself vulnerable to this sleep disorder characterized by pauses in breathing during sleep. People with sleep apnea experience a host of problems including memory loss, migraines and extreme mood swings. Untreated sleep apnea can lead to heart disease, and heart attacks. To Donna Simpson being in the Guinness Book of World Records is so important that she is willing to risk her three year old daughter waking up one day to find her mother, in bed, dead of a stroke or heart attack.
• Type II Diabetes: As someone who weighs well over 600 pounds Donna Simpson is putting herself at risk for developing Type II Diabetes. Donna Simpson obviously doesn’t seem to care about her health but she would be devastated if she actually did develop type II diabetes since one of the main symptoms of this disease is weight loss due to insulin intolerance. Likewise, diabetes related infections are currently the leading cause of leg amputation in the United States. Loosing a leg or two would devastate Donna Simpson not because this would stop her from chasing after and playing with her three year old daughter in the park but because without the weight of her thighs it would be almost impossible for Donna Simpson to reach her goal weight of 1000 pounds.

Now, I can go on and on here about the dangers of obesity but, I wont. The truth is that we all know the dangers of obesity; we all know the importance of exercise; we all know the importance of proper nutrition and yet 30% or more of our population is obese and icons such as Oprah, Dr. Phil, etc… are chasing after people like Donna Simpson.

I understand that to some of you it may seem as if I am being overly critical of a woman whose simply overweight. We all know that in our society today being overweight is extremely difficult. So, I was curious to know if Donna Simpson is seen as a plus-size advocate. A short Google search led me to a website called manolobig.com.

This is a wonderful website full of fashion and lifestyle advice for the plus-sized woman. One of the editors, Plumcake, had the following to say about Donna Simpson’s quest to reach 1000 pounds: “PLUS, what better way to help the anti-fat brigade than by becoming unhealthy ON PURPOSE so everyone can get up in arms about how much money fat people are costing the government in health care? Because I’m not sure if you’ve noticed it yet, but we’re having a BIT OF A ROUGH TIME OF IT RIGHT NOW and it’s not quite expensive or difficult ENOUGH to be fat in this country, you’re willingly becoming the poster child of the folks who want to make it even harder. Thanks, Donna, you’re a real pal”.

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