Blame It on the Rain

©Channel4.com

Last week I was one of the 2.6m people that tuned in to watch Britain’s Fattest Man on Channel 4 - a documentary about a man who weighed as much 70 stone before having a gastric bypass operation last year. I watched the documentary in a mixed state of shock and disbelief from start to finish. 

One week on and I admittedly still shudder when I think of what it would have taken for Paul Mason to grow to the size he was.  Even more interesting, is the view of some Metro readers to Mason’s situation:

‘Consider the possibility that Western culture is to blame, with our easily accessible, high sugar, fat and salt content and processed foods’, said one reader

‘At 70st, Paul explained he put on the weight because of depression – brought on by a number of reasons including losing his job’ said another.

The nation doesn’t seem to be this sympathetic when an alcoholic is using public transport as a toilet or after a drug addict has broken in to someone’s car in search of finance for their next fix, yet it could be argued that the motives are the same.

I’m often unfairly accused of being a ‘cacomorphobic’ because of my personal views on morbid obesity, but after seeing the story of  a man who is being held prisoner in his own body from his own doing, I’m sticking to my guns.