I was oddly pleased to find a BBC special called, “Obesity: The Post Mortem”. This was a graphic inside look of an autopsy of an obese person. The woman was actually from Long Beach, CA and transported to London to undergo this process. She had donated her body. Not that watching any autopsy is stomach turning, but I had that don’t want to look away feeling the entire hour.
The woman on the cutting table was 16 stone, or about 224 pounds. One stone is equal to 14 pounds in the U.K. She died of heart disease as the result of medical issues arising from being overweight. At first glance she had blisters on her skin and indentions (dimples) all over which are common on larger bodies after death. She carried most of her weight in her stomach.
The initial cutting revealed a very thick, buttery, yellow layer, better know as fatty tissue. This lipid layer looked greasy and oily.
She had quite a bit of fatty tissue built up around her heart and diaphragm which would indicate difficulty breathing. She had an enlarged fatty liver. Her lungs had edema fluid, which is a sign of heart failure. The structure of her organs revealed she had high blood pressure. She had scarring on her kidneys which also is a sign of high blood pressure.
This on hour of gruesome opening of the body was almost a scared straight tactic to know what is going on inside an overweight body. Morbid obesity can cut 8 to 10 years off of someone’s life. Compared to 20 years ago, people are about one stone or 14 pounds heavier. Fat does have a protective role in our bodies and is important for specific functions even in the cardiovascular system. Fatty acids are part of the contraction process of our hearts. But having an excess of fat has a multitude of problems that can take place.
Fat accumulates over time. Little by little the body is suffering. It is never to late to start reversing this damage. But the longer the wait, the harder the reversibility. Every day and every choice counts. Now put that image of butter in your mind…. yep you don’t need it. Be active. Be happy. Be kind to your BODY. Your family will thank you for the extra years you have here with them.
“Obesity: The Post Mortem” (2018). BBC.