Britain's heaviest man dies, aged 33

[Penna]

Carl Thompson, who weighed 65 stone, was found dead in his flat in Dover. He was being cared for by a team of NHS staff, but was also getting meals from a local takeaway who had a key to his flat and would bring the food to his bedside. With that sort of arrangement, any health service intervention was bound to fail.

Full story:
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/jun/22/britains-heaviest-man-dies-aged-33

Apart from the sad and unnecessary loss of a young man's life, the words of the owner of his favourite pizza place are so ironic.

“I can’t believe it. He had cut right down on what he was eating. He was only ordering one or two things a day. When I took the order he seemed happy enough. He was talking about how he was going to the hospital and they were going to do tests for him. He was full of life.”

 

[SalfordRed18]

You gotta question the morals of the take away owner, dont ya? Technically i suppose he did nothing wrong, but morally?

 

[Cina]

Sad to hear about someone's death, but stuff like this does always remind me of...

 

[Solius]

"He was full of life"

Think he means food.

 

[Mciahel Goodman]

If alcoholism is a disease, and it is commonly accepted as such, surely this form of extreme obesity has to also be in that category. If someone drinks themselves to death you wouldn't automatically think of levity. Is there much of a difference? If not, why the disparity in reaction?

 

[Ole's_toe_poke]

Surely he could've received some sort of help in his formative years to stop him from eating so much.

 

[Cina]

If alcoholism is a disease, and it is commonly accepted as such, surely this form of extreme obesity has to also be in that category. If someone drinks themselves to death you wouldn't automatically think of levity. Is there much of a difference? If not, why the disparity in reaction?

Obesity is classified as a disease since 2013.

 

[LawCharltonBest]

I wonder what is wrong mentally with a person to make them like that.
It just strikes me that one positive relationship in earlier life may have prevented everything. My BMI went from 'Obese' to 'normal weight' within Months just because there was a girl I wanted to fiddle with.

 

[Kaos]

I wonder what is wrong mentally with a person to make them like that.
It just strikes me that one positive relationship in earlier life may have prevented everything. My BMI went from 'Obese' to 'normal weight' within Months just because there was a girl I wanted to fiddle with.

Early childhood abuse? Mental illness?

Could be a few reasons. Don't think anyone consciously achieves to reach those levels of big.

 

[caid]

You gotta question the morals of the take away owner, dont ya? Technically i suppose he did nothing wrong, but morally?

I dont know, not like he could cook for himself i presume.
Were the team of doctors delivering food to him every day?

 

[Grinner]

How come he couldn't get a job in a carnival?

 

[Pexbo]

What a weight to go.

 

[Penna]

I dont know, not like he could cook for himself i presume.
Were the team of doctors delivering food to him every day?

The NHS carers were cooking for him. However, when they weren't there he was having the extra from the pizza place.

You gotta question the morals of the take away owner, dont ya? Technically i suppose he did nothing wrong, but morally?

Well, I guess he thought he was being helpful, and it was also good business. The guy was spending over £200 a week on takeaways at one time. I reckon some people might have refused to have the responsibility (and risk) of holding a key to the flat of a helpless and vulnerable person.

 

[Grinner]

How on earth did he get up and have a poo?

 

[Alock1]

You gotta question the morals of the take away owner, dont ya? Technically i suppose he did nothing wrong, but morally?

Why exactly? It's no one elses job to decide what an individual eats. Bringing the takeaway inside the house doesn't really constitute going to another level than any other takeaway really does it? I serve alcohol every shift to alcoholics who I know are drinking their life away. I mean, it's a bit depressing, but it's not my responsibility.

 

[Mciahel Goodman]

Hundreds of years ago it was a sign of nobility to be obese, because food shortages meant that only rich people of a certain status could become obese. This changed in the nineteenth century when the trend reversed itself -- Byronic slenderness was the mark of nobility or civilisation (particularly control of self), obesity the mark of an animal, or buffoon. Cultural condemnation of anything which exceeds perceived norms is top-down, driven by the media -- Althusser's ISA. It's no coincidence that anorexia nervousa emerged in the nineteenth century, and it wasn't in a cultural vacuum. Which is relevant because the problem with both alcoholism and extreme obesity is that people are castigated for a perceived lack of will power. We think "Well, if I can abstain from drink, or from gorging on food excessively, then why can't you?" Yet these people quite clearly have a diminished capacity to exercise control. In many cases, will has nothing to do with it, yet we're quick to judge all by whatever standard is immediately applicable to ourselves.

Judging him by my standard it's easy for me to be disgusted by this man -- but the guy was clearly mentally ill. Title could just as well read "Mentally ill man dies".

 

[Penna]

How on earth did he get up and have a poo?

He couldn't get up. The carers would have had to deal with that side of things.

 

[Grinner]

He couldn't get up. The carers would have had to deal with that side of things.

Christ...and after a diet of curries. You couldn't pay me enough to do that.

 

[caid]

Why exactly? It's no one elses job to decide what an individual eats. Bringing the takeaway inside the house doesn't really constitute going to another level than any other takeaway really does it? I serve alcohol every shift to alcoholics who I know are drinking their life away. I mean, it's a bit depressing, but it's not my responsibility.

Having worked in a pub i think i have to agree. Not you job to babysit them
If take away owners had to be responsible for the customers health they're not going to be selling much food are they?
'oh you were in 2 days ago, cant serve you, come back next week'

The guy was an adult who ate himself to death.
Its sad to see someone hurt themselves in that manner (or any manner) but at the end of the day you cant force people to take and make use of your help

 

[Jippy]

Christ...and after a diet of curries. You couldn't pay me enough to do that.

Presumably someone had to bed bath him and get in between the folds too.

 

[ThierryHenry]

He couldn't get up. The carers would have had to deal with that side of things.

Are carers allowed to reject a patient like that? Are they compensated extra in any way?

 

[Penna]

Are carers allowed to reject a patient like that? Are they compensated extra in any way?

No, as a carer or nurse you have to care for anyone and everyone. He was in need. You don't get extra for unusual or difficult patients.

 

[Oo0AahCantona]

What I think separates alcoholism with obesity, is that alcoholism can be harder to acknowledge, whereas obesity is clear as day, and is more visible as it progresses, if i had a friend i saw getting visibly larger and larger i would find it impossible not to say anything, whereas i might not know if somebody is drinking at inappropriate levels.

 

[Mojo_]

It's because of people like this the super size mega mac meal was outlawed.

 

[DatIrishFella]

Shhhit, a lot of coldness in this thread.

 

[Mora-16]

It can't be easy to reverse a lifetime of bad eating habits and little activity, but understanding and sympathy can only go so far.
At some point, obese people have to take responsibility for their actions, like any addict, and they need to acknowledge that their weight is linked to unresolved medical and emotional issues.
Feeding their habit, literally is sending them to an early grave.

 

[caid]

What I think separates alcoholism with obesity, is that alcoholism can be harder to acknowledge, whereas obesity is clear as day, and is more visible as it progresses, if i had a friend i saw getting visibly larger and larger i would find it impossible not to say anything, whereas i might not know if somebody is drinking at inappropriate levels.

Acknowledging the problem isn't the same thing as finding the solution.
Some medications can screw up your appetite.
Some can make you feel hungry basically all day every day no matter how much you eat. So people slip and they have a couple of biscuits or an extra serving more often than is strictly healthy and put on weight. Ok, you dont put on 50 stone its an extreme example obviously but some people put on weight really damn fast and will find themselves on the wrong side of the line on a BMI pretty quickly.
Others can put you off food and you lose weight and thats really unhealthy too but doesn't draw the same kind of disdain.
Some older peoples knees can go and they end up sitting a lot and pile on weight.
Theres a lot of very understandable reasons people can put on weight, especially in the society we live in
and it can be very hard for some people to keep their weight up or down when they gain or lose some.

You shouldn't be judgemental, offer to help in a practical way or leave them to it.

I think alcoholism is easier to ignore in some countries because the line between a total alcoholic and a sociable person who goes out often is pretty tiny.

 

[ThierryHenry]

No, as a carer or nurse you have to care for anyone and everyone. He was in need. You don't get extra for unusual or difficult patients.

Obviously that's good news, but his poor poor carers. I don't want to think about how much money it would take for me to feel comfortable doing that every day...

 

[Maagge]

What a weight to go.

Obesehave or something.

 

[Grinner]

Obviously that's good news, but his poor poor carers. I don't want to think about how much money it would take for me to feel comfortable doing that every day...

I'd just hose him down and scrub him with a broom.

 

[marukomu]

A fat lot of the good the NHS did.

 

[ShadesOfTomato]

200 quid a week on takeaways? How'd he afford that?

A fat lot of the good the NHS did.

Don't see what else they could have done.

 

[marukomu]

A fat lot of the good the NHS did.



Don't see what else they could have done.

Joke.

 

[ShadesOfTomato]

Joke.

Completely went over my head

 

[Grinner]

So who's our fattest fecker now that the king is dead?

 

[marukomu]

Maybe Steve Bruce?

 

[Mciahel Goodman]

£200 a week on takeaways is pretty mental. I wouldn't spend a quarter of that in a year. Wonder why he wasn't refused service -- dodgy issue coming between free will and that, but considering the burden he placed on the NHS you'd expect there to be conditions/restrictions on what he could eat (how did he afford it for a start).

 

[theyneverlearn]

10,000 calories a day!

Where were his family? Or did he consume those as well?

 

[Nanook]

So who's our fattest fecker now that the king is dead?

There is Paul Mason from Ipswich but I believe he's lost a few hundred pounds, he has so much excess skin from losing the weight the bottom half of his body looks like The Elephant Man.

It's hard to say who Britain's fattest man is, I'd imagine they're pretty elusive bunch, if you were 750 pounds would you go public with it? I certainly wouldn't. Also just weighing them is mammoth job, quite literally. They might only get weighed once a year so it's hard to keep track of their current weight.

 

[Woodzy]

In all honesty I think I would die after just one day of eating 10000 calories, so he had a good run.