's motd Sunday March 13, 2011

[Guest guest]

THE ENABLERS

Sunday, 13 March 2011

Have you noticed how many shows

there are on television lately about morbidly obese

people? I know these shows very well because, as many

of you have seen, I've appeared in some of them. And

I have to tell you, doing these shows and meeting the

people featured in them often makes me very sad.

I watched one of those shows last

week and it really got to me. It was about a man who

weighed 575 pounds. He lived with his wife in their

two-story home. But the really sad part is that he'd

never ventured to their home's second floor. That's

because he was terrified of getting stuck in the very

narrow staircase you took to get upstairs.

He could walk, but not so well, with the aid of a

cane. But he also had to have a specially designed

wheelchair to accommodate his size. So because of

what he weighed, he was very limited in what he could

do in life.

His wife also had a weight problem but she was not

nearly as obese as her husband. In fact, she could do

all of the things he probably once took for granted.

She took care of her husband and waited on him hand

and foot. She cooked the foods he liked and sometimes

he'd even yell at her when he was ready to eat again.

There was one scene where the two of them went grocery

shopping together. He had to get around the market in

that specially made wheelchair. And I couldn't

believe when he picked up several bags of cheese he

wanted her to buy. See, they were going to have some

friends over for a dinner party and she was going to

make lasagna. But my goodness, the number of bags of

cheese he grabbed...scared me! She tried to

tell him that she didn't need that much cheese for the

dish but he insisted. And would you believe? She

ended up giving in to him.

I've known couples like them for

decades. And what word would I use to define his

wife? Well, I'm sorry to say, she's an...ENABLER.

That's right. He wasn't able to cook his own meals...she

did. He couldn't go to the grocery store by

himself...she took him. And like she did

with the cheese, I'd imagine she gives in to his food

demands at the supermarket and at home...a

lot!

I would also imagine it's never crossed her mind that

all of the food she buys, cooks and feeds him is,

well...slowly helping to kill him. I know if I were

to ask why she gives in and actually helps her

husband eat the way he does, she'd probably reply,

it's because I love him.

And I have to say, from watching the show, it was

obvious that she did indeed love her husband very,

very much. But let me ask you, the way she was

helping him eat...is that really "love?"

Is there someone in your family

you're enabling to become overweight or obese? I mean

when you see how many overweight kids there are in our

country, you have to wonder if one or both parents

buys and cooks foods that enable their children to

gain weight. Oh come on everybody, we've got to

stop this!

It's my dream that one day, there'll be no more shows

on this cable channel or that one about another

morbidly obese person. My dream is that we can beat

this problem and one day, all of us will be able to

live longer, healthier lives by weighing what we should

weigh. I'd like to help enable all

Americans to get there!

Love,