At what point are you slightly too big?

[treat24]

glad he's ok now, but dang....

Crews rescue 500-pound man from river

Crews this morning rescued a 500-pound man who suffered a medical emergency on the St. Croix River near Grantsburg, Wis., Monday evening, a Pine County, Minn., sheriff's dispatcher says.

He had been on the river for nearly 12 hours.

The man was part of a group that went tubing from Danbury, Wis., said Dean Roland, Burnett County, Wis., sheriff. One of the tubes went flat about 2.5 miles south of Fox Landing.

Danbury is about 107 miles from Minneapolis.

The man, believed to be 39 years old, reported chest pains when he called the Pine County, Minn., Sheriff's department at about 8:20 p.m. Pine County then called Burnett County for assistance, Roland said.

Authorities from the Grantsburg Fire Department, the Wisconsin DNR, the Pine County, Minn., Fire Department, the Pine County Sheriff, and the Minnesota State Police helicopter were called in search for the man.

They found him about 9:30 p.m.

The rescue attempt began immediately, but faced some challenges, he said.

"He's a man of large stature and is in a location where the water is shallow," Roland said. "There are lots of rocks and the sides are steep."

Rescue crews helped the man into a boat, but the boat ran aground, Roland said.

By 5 a.m. today, a hovercraft was sent to the scene, but the attempt failed. They also tried an amphibious vehicle, Roland said.

By 7 a.m., rescue crews were trying to get to the man with ATVs.

"Nothing is working," Roland said.

There are close to 50 emergency personnel on the scene.

"They are doing everything they can to assist him," Roland said.

The man reportedly is alert and conscious, but his condition is deteriorating, Roland said.

Officials were trying to get a helicopter with a hoist from Traverse City, Mich., to help in the effort.

[moonhead]

the point where she says ouch. no.

[sox 06]

That's a sad story. I've always wondered how people get that big. Do they just eat way too much or is it some kind of genetic thing they don't have control over?

[SwiperNoSwiping]

the point where she says ouch. no.

LOL. I was thinking when you have to tuck it into your sock so it doesn't drag on the ground and get stepped on.

[knapplc]

That's a weird article. The beginning says he was rescued, but the end makes it seem like he is still in the water and "his situation is deteriorating."

As for how people get that big, I think it's a combination of reasons. Some are genetically predisposed, while others have "issues" that cause them to eat and eat. Depression is strongly linked to obesity. It's not just general laziness, not when you're talking that size.

[sportsaddict]

I just don't know how you get to be 500 pounds... you would think that at some point you'd want to exert some self control and cut some weight, but I think it gets to the point of no return for some people. Sad situations, unfortunately.

[treat24]

That's a weird article. The beginning says he was rescued, but the end makes it seem like he is still in the water and "his situation is deteriorating."

As for how people get that big, I think it's a combination of reasons. Some are genetically predisposed, while others have "issues" that cause them to eat and eat. Depression is strongly linked to obesity. It's not just general laziness, not when you're talking that size.

the article was essentially written before he was rescued but they added the first couple paragraphs just recently when he was rescued...

[Guru13]

if he makes it out of this alive, hopefully he'll realize how close he was to dying because of his weight and will take action.

[beanoX3]

if he makes it out of this alive, hopefully he'll realize how close he was to dying because of his weight and will take action.

Maybe Oprah or Richard Simmons will pay for lipo.


Reminds me of seeing some talk show about severely obese people. This one lady was 500+ lbs and she claimed that she doesn't understand why she can't lose weight no matter what diet she went on. Apparently, she thought that since things were labeled non-fat or diet, she could eat/drink as much as she wanted. And she ate enough in one meal to feed a family of five. And she had 7 meals a day. And so, she didn't understand why she got so fat. Her 150lb husband prepared and fed her every day too, since she was too heavy to get up out of bed.


One case where stupidity and gluttony contributed to severe obesity.

[moonhead]

yeah i watched a tv show about morbidly obese people. one guy was lucky enough to get gi bypass surgery. but he was so ignorant, and his wife was too, that they thought kfc was a good source of protein. so he sat there eating kfc while his wife was like "that's good honey, get your protein". needless to say, the gi bypass was minimally successful in this case.