Donna Simpson, NJ Mom, Tempts Death By Donuts

Donna Simpson, aspirant for the Heaviest Woman Alive title, is a true anomaly at school pick-up time. Or she would be, if she could make it to school pick-up. This New Jersey mom, who weighed 600 lbs. several months ago and is aiming to hit 1,000, can’t get around much. Sadly, she doesn’t care.

Ms. Simpson eats 12,000 calories a day, costing her $750-a-week in grocery bills (she lives in Old Bridge, NJ, and her bills are funded in-part by internet viewers who pay to watch her eat). Her 150-lb. boyfriend supports the quest. She’s said, “I think he’d like it if I was bigger. He’s a real belly man, and completely supports me.” He’d better, since he, or someone else, needs to help her with basic everyday tasks. She can’t walk and gets around with the help of a scooter, and has trouble even taking a shower. She also has Type-2 Diabetes. Despite these setbacks she claims to be “healthy.” Heathy?

Okay, she admits that, despite the hoards of sushi, cakes and donuts, she may not reach her goal. “When you have a 3-year-old daughter and you’re trying to run a household, things like this tend to be a fantasy,” Simpson told The New York Post. What’s her true aim? To be named the Heaviest Woman to Give Birth. She was 532 lbs when she had her daughter in 2007. There’s currently no Fattest Delivery category in Guinness, but the Records Book folks are currently considering her request. Seriously? This is going to be encouraged? A category in which people about to be responsible for children are prompted to gain excessive weight?

In the Biggest Loser and moms-getting-tummy-tucks era, this woman is truly one of a kind.

It’s not her ability to care for her child that worries me. It’s the way that this kind of weight shortens a woman’s lifespan. Donna Simpson’s kids are now ages 3 and 14. I’d argue that she owes it to her children to try to stick around as long as she can. Didn’t she see Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution? Because as this story winds up and gets more and more press, only one thought is going through my mind: