Two extremes

The "News of the Weird" column of the Salt Lake Tribune has a new feature story I think: "600-Pound woman eating for the record books". I know it seems backwards, right? In a day and age where people seem infatuated with fad diets, weight loss television series, and calorie-cutting how-tos, I found it hard to believe that there are people out there purposefully gaining weight. But anything goes for Guinness World Record seekers I suppose. Donna Simpson is breaking the status quo to do exactly that. She's claiming she'll be   the next fattest woman on earth, and do to so she needs to gain 400 more pounds. But the record isn't what Simpson is all about; setting such a goal is just a "fantasy" as she calls it to attract even more fans than she already has. Simpson is an increasingly successful model on a highly popular site, Supersizedbombshells.com. The site caters to men attracted to women of such size. 

 Plus-size models all around the world are getting a noticably bigger share of the pie these days — proudly appearing everywhere from designer rundays to print and TV ads and proving there's a market for much more than one skinny size fits all. -NY Daily News

I guess I shouldn't be so quick to judge, but I think the situation is two-fold. First off, I think it is great that our nation is becoming more accepting of all body types. It's disgusting the amount of money and energy put into publicizing sickly skinny models and binge diets for the public to get to such sizes too. But just as unhealthy is eating just to eat, or eating to break a record. It's inevitable that obesity brings about more serious health issues-high blood pressure and heart problems just to name a few. So, I guess my question is where should the line be drawn. When does accepting all body types and sizes step too far and encourage health risking obesity? But just as fair would be to ask when does healthy lifestyle promotion lead to unhealthy weight loss and dieting? Both are questions I think anyone should ponder upon.