Navarre man winning the Battle of the Bulge

Many Americans struggle with their weight.

Whether we’re struggling with those last five pounds, the post-pregnancy “baby weight” or trying to beat back the slow accumulation of an extra 20 pounds over the years, the battle of the bulge is a hard one to fight.

For Frank West, it’s a battle he’s winning.

Frank’s story begins the way so many often do; a love of food, an extra helping here and there, poor choices along the way, and a background that did not instruct him on healthy eating.

Frank’s journey toward wellness, however, is slightly more dramatic than most. At his heaviest, Frank weighed nearly 1,000 pounds. He was mobile, but needed to use oxygen and was in poor health.

Morbid obesity is defined as having a body mass index of greater than 40. Super obesity is a condition in which a patient has a BMI of more than 50. By contrast, a healthy BMI range is 18.5 – 24.9. More than one in four Americans is obese. Frank’s case may be unusual in terms of his weight, but the symptoms he was experiencing are all too common.

For more on this story, see the August 4 issue of the Navarre Press or subscribe online.