Obesity IS a Disease

The residents of Brookhaven Rehabilitation Centre – also known as the Half Ton Hospital – are morbidly obese and suffer from a variety of obesity related ailments which could result in the loss of limbs or even more soberingly – death.

I’ve been accused of being a lipophobe – a term my brother-in-law made up in response to my reactions to obesity. I think it's a bit extreme but maybe there is some truth to his observations. For me watching the Half Ton Hospital is like having a fear of snakes and deciding to stroll through the Amazon. I find it uncomfortable to see people struggling to do simple tasks like walk or even bathe. And it’s equally frustrating because apart from those who struggle with a health issues such as underactive thyroid, obesity is totally preventable.

One thing people fail to realise is that the body has a remarkable ability to store fat and you don’t need to be a nutritionist to know when you’re eating unhealthily. So why is it that some people are able to exercise restraint and others can’t? A destructive obsession with food.

Most of the patients at the Half Ton Hospital are dealing with underlying issues and use food for comfort.

With this in mind, how messed up is it that the latest addition to KFC portfolio is the KFC DoubleDown Sandwich. On their website they claim that the burger only has 540 calories but you don’t need to be a licensed dietician to query that statistic. As a matter of fact the Vancouver Sun did an independent calorie analysis and found the ‘sandwich’ to contain 1228 calories. Unreal.

‘This one-of-a-kind sandwich features two thick and juicy boneless white meat chicken filets (Original Recipe® or Grilled), two pieces of bacon, two melted slices of Monterey Jack and pepper jack cheese and Colonel's Sauce. This product is so meaty, there’s no room for a bun!’

Cigarette firms put a disclaimer on their products so where is the disclaimer for this sandwich??? What scares me is that people who are nutritionally ignorant will assume it’s a part of the Atkins diet and people who suffer from the obesity may see it as comfort food.

With obesity rates rising in the UK, I hope our government steps in to prevent this sandwich from becoming available on the high street.


*Vancouver Sun study based on 2,000 calorie diet