Fat History

"Evolution" by Carol Lay

A history of the world's heaviest people from Dimensions Magazine:

"Human beings have been getting remarkably fat since prehistoric times (to judge by such artifacts as the celebrated Venus of Willendorf), and accurate weighing is mostly a twentieth-century phenomenon, so the heaviest man or woman ever must always remain a matter of conjecture. Every age and culture has a tale of some remarkable heavyweight, but how much these Paul Bunyans of bulk have grown in the telling is impossible to say. A few such stories have come down to us from classical times. The Roman physician Galen, writing in the first century, cites the case of one Nichomachus of Smyrna, who was so heavy that he could neither move nor be moved from his bed. Other authors tell of a Roman senator who was able to walk only when two slaves carried his belly for him, and of a latter-day Egyptian pharaoh whose belly was broader than the span of a man's outstretched arms."

"Dionysius of Heracleia was notorious for his appetite, and eventually grew so weighty that he could scarcely budge: he suffered from apnea or narcolepsy besides, prompting his doctors to prick his flesh with needles whenever he fell asleep on his throne. A contemporary poet has him declare that he aspired to end his days "on my back, lying on my many rolls of fat, scarcely uttering a word, taking labored breaths, and eating my fill," for of all the ways a man might die, an excess of luxury was the only truly happy death. Nevertheless, he lived to what was then the ripe old age of 55, earning a reputation for fairness and generosity that competed with his size as an object of astonishment."

"A man observed by the celebrated Dutch physician Hermann Boerhaave took his meals at a table that had been cut away in a semicircle to accommodate his circumference: not having slaves to help him, he used a sling worn around his shoulders to carry his belly. A Gentleman's Magazine of 1789 acquainted readers with a man who hadn't left his bed under his own power for three years: to change the sheets, he was hoisted up with pulleys. (He was said to be in good health, aside from a rheumatic complaint typical of his 80-plus years.) In 1889, an attempt was made to put a young French woman of Plaisance on exhibit, "but eight men could not move her from her room, and as she could not pass through the door the idea was abandoned." And for each of these stories, hundreds - if not thousands - more must have been recorded only in local legend, and then forgotten."

Read the full report here.

Venus of Willendorf (c.24,000-22,000 BCE)

Anti-corpulence product ads, 1882

"Fat Man" Vinegar Valentine

Rainer Siefert, artist

Fat-free products display

Seppo.net

National Geographic Magazine, August 2004

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

World's Heaviest People

A report on the world's heaviest people published in Dimensions Magagine lists Robert Earl Hughes as number eight out of twenty eight profiled. View the full list here.

Robert Earl Hughes (1926 - 1958) of Monticello, MO (buried in Mt. Sterling, IL), 6 ft 1/2 in, weighed 1069 lbs in February, 1958. Hughes began life at a healthy 11 1/2 lbs, and progressed to 203 lbs at 6 years, 378 lbs at 10, 546 lbs at 13, 693 lbs at 18, and 947 at 27. His weight made him a national celebrity: even his custom-made blue jeans made news. At his peak, he claimed a chest girth of 124 inches and a 122-inch waistline. His untimely death was due to kidney failure following a bout with measles: unable to fit through the door of a hospital room, he'd been treated in a truck trailer parked outside. The story that he was buried in a packing case made for a grand piano is untrue. His coffin was built to order, and he was eulogized as a man whose heart was as big as his body. Life magazine called him a relatively light eater.

Fat Acceptance Organization

National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance
An estimated 38 million Americans are significantly heavier than average, and face societal and institutional bias because of their size. Fat people are discriminated against in employment, education, access to public accommodations, and access to adequate medical care. In addition, fat people are stigmatized, and are the victims of tasteless jokes and assaults on their dignity. Despite evidence that 95-98% of diets fail over three years, our thin-obsessed society continues to believe that fat people are at fault for their size.

NAAFA is the only national membership organization fighting to end size discrimination, educating the public, and working to empower fat people. People all sizes of large should support NAAFA's work in combating size discrimination. People of average size who believe that size discrimination is wrong should ally themselves with the size acceptance movement.

Fat-themed TV and Film

The first reality series in which everybody "loses," "The Biggest Loser" offers severely overweight participants the opportunity to undergo a radical physical makeover without any kind of surgery.

Caroline Rhea ("Sabrina, the Teenage Witch") returns to host the second season of the series which challenges and encourages overweight contestants as they compete for a grand prize of $250,000 in a safe and recommended manner through comprehensive diet and exercise. The unscripted and life-altering one-hour reality series gathers contestants from across the country to face real-life temptations while being provided with approved weight-loss skills and resources in an effort to help them transform their bodies, health -- and ultimately, their lives.

"The Biggest Loser" provides the 14 strong-willed yet hopeful contestants -- who are divided into the red team (women) and the blue team (men) -- challenges, temptations, weigh-ins and eliminations until the final contestant remains to claim the title of "the biggest loser." Each team works out under the supervision of professional trainers Jillian Michaels (red team) and Bob Harper (blue team).

The inspirational series premiered October 19, 2004, and the January 11, 2005 finale became a ratings heavyweight, scoring NBC's highest rating in the time period in nearly three years. "The Biggest Loser" finale more than doubled the 2.9 rating in adults 18-49 that NBC had been averaging in the time period prior to the arrival of "Loser."

Reviewer: M. G. Mora "Bad Wolf" (San Leandro, CA. United States):

When I first read that she was doing a show about being a "Fat Actress," I had some skepticism about just how funny a show could be about someone being fat and not getting work but it appears Kirstie has taken that premise and run with the joke. Upon viewing one episode I knew that I was in for a good ride so I bought the entire DVD (since I don't have Showtime). You can tell Kirstie is making, not only fun of Hollywood, but of herself and I have been laughing hysterically at all the episodes. She is not only great but her supporting cast is wonderful as well. And you can't forget the writing. In this day of throw away sitcoms, this one is one of the better shows out there now.

A Big Fat Documentery is a new series about being fat, weight loss, etc. Here is a preview of the documentary series from the UK starring Victoria Wood.

Victoria Wood's new documentary series promises to be lively and contentious as well as giving us all a chance to laugh at the Big Fat subject. Billed as a personal and honest take on the dieting industry, the Big Fat Documentary follows Victoria's investigation into media pressure, fat acceptance, slimming products, diet fads and the history of the ideal body shape. On Victoria's amusing journey she attempts to answer such questions as: why is it hard to lose weight? Why are slimming clubs in such horrible halls? Why have we become a nation of overeaters?

"I've started enough diets in my life to understand that buzz you get from weighing out a quarter cup of muesli, four ounces of skimmed milk and a dried apricot," she says. "But I'm hugely entertained by the madness of it all." Helping Victoria along the way are exercise gurus, dieting experts and a smattering of celebrities including the Duchess of York, Vanessa Feltz and Anne Robinson.