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Subscribe to RSSThose who are grossly overweight often feel guilty about many things. Now, add one more to the list: Their weight even gets in the way of helping others after their death by donating their bodies, according to an msnbc.com article.
If warnings about health issues don’t motivate people to lose weight, perhaps that reason will for those who want others to learn from their bodies after their deaths.
Fat bodies are not ideal for teaching anatomy in medical school. Given all the health issues associated with being blubbery you might imagine that students could learn a lot from an overweight corpse. But first, they need to learn what a body not affected by the ravages of too much weight looks like. You simply can’t start with the abnormal and work your way back.
The fact that so many of us are obese does not, contrary to the laments of some fat advocacy groups, make obesity normal. When it comes to learning about the body and its parts, a student needs to be able to see what a healthy body is even if there are a lot of folks who do not have one.
Another, more practical problem, is that anatomy class equipment is not built for plus-sizes. Even if those who run body donation programs want to take bigger bodies, they simply cannot manage them. The process of embalming involves 5 to 6 gallons of fluid which adds as much as one hundred pounds to an already heavy body. It is hard for the staff to transport, lift and manipulate this kind of dead weight.
As we know, Americans are packing on the pounds. The obesity epidemic will be a huge factor in driving up the bill for the next generation.
In recent years, there has been a proliferation of furniture, clothes, towels, seat belt extenders and funeral caskets aimed at large people. But, that revolution hasn’t and, given the cost, won’t reach the world of body donation and anatomy class.
If you want yet another reason to lose weight, know that if you want your last act to be the gift of helping medical students to learn after your death, you need to slim down.
Story: Donating your body to science? No one wants a chubby corpse
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if folks can't get healthy for themselves or their families, do you really think that leaving their body to science would be a motivating factor?
More Art Caplan drivel.
I've been following your misinformed, prejudiced posts on a variety of topics for years. I have saved several emails I wrote and decided not to send on topics you have written about and infuriated me with over the years, but this is just beyond the pale.
(Previous topics include your uninformed, legally- and economically-challenged misunderstanding of the use and specious allegations of misuse of gene patents.)
This is just insulting to people who suffer from the DISEASE of morbid obesity. I guess you woke up needing to write something today, and decided to use an article about practical issues with cadaver donations to write some prejudiced fatty-hating comments with which to tittilate your readers (and to get paid for writing)?
Other than the fact that this article adds NOTHING of value to the public weal, other than to allow you to express your shocking lack of knowledge and prejudice, can you please explain your astonishing mathematical calculations with respect to embalming fluid?
Water weighs about 8 lbs/gallon. You are alleging that adding 5-6 gallons of embalming fluid to a body would increase the weight 100 lbs. Is this magical math, or more of your lazy, self-serving drivel? By the way, embalming fluid DISPLACES blood, lymph and other bodily fluids, so perhaps your math is even further off?
You pander to and reinforce your readers' base prejudices and lack of knowledge. You are an embarrassment to your profession.
For the record, I am a left of center Democrat on social issues; a centrist on economic issuse; a PhD in biological chemistry and an attorney. Hardly an extremist on ANY topic, and fairly well versed in the science, technology and economics of much of what you write about. You have sold out what should be a bully pulpit for thoughtful ethics, to herald your "opinions" that promote readership rather than education and analysis.
You must be fat.
honestly, art caplan is the one who looks fat. did you see his picture?
i thought diana made a very good post, and i'm impressed with her credentials.
you're looking at the issue emotionally, not objectively. most of the time, obese people aren't gonna be that great of a teaching instrument. nothing against the person personally, but all that adipose just piles up as extra tissue that has to be sliced through. in an effort to get through, it's easy to slice right through the underlying tissue and end up destroying what you're trying to get to in order to study. it's a pathology outside of the physiological norm that can be difficult to work with, professors don't want their students just hacking through bodies, and it's just easier to go with a skinnier cadaver.
which means that you have a science background and should know that for issues like this, objectivity matters.
Diana, what's wrong with freedom of speech and press? What's wrong with citing an analysis about the modern-day obstacles in proper medical education? What's wrong with bringing such contemporary issues to a broader audience?
Most readers, when discussing obesity, do not consider the real-world challenges with organ donation. I thought this was a nice little tid-bit about yet another degree in which obesity negatively impacts society in the long run.
nasserd, this has nothing to do with freedom of speech.
we have the freedom to criticize art caplan as much as we want.
some people don't like his articles.
“The embalming process adds considerable weight. Generally, a 250-pound person might weigh 350 to 400 pounds when embalmed,” said Richard Dey, professor and chairman of the Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy at West Virginia University in Morgantown. His program receives about 275 bodies a year and turns away at least a few.
Diana,
I think if you read the article, you would understand where he got the numbers from. It really is hard to get an accurate picture of the body when you have layers and layers of fat. Cutting through and exposing the other connective tissue takes a lot more time than people would think.
Plus, some of what he says make sense :) please read:
http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/28/9072934-officials-wrong-to-take-200-pound-boy-from-mom-bioethicist-says
"Given all the health issues associated with being blubbery..."
Do none of you see how insulting that particular phrase is? How is this writer not prejudiced? This topic has also been discussed in a different MSNBC article, so this article is just this writer beating this topic into the ground.
Diana, obesity is a man made epidemic, rarely something that is beyond the control of nearly any individual. Most of these people contribute to their own demise by continuing their unhealthy habits throughout their life, regardless of all the warnings and visible consequences presented to them. What I find interesting is that these people (among others) decide to blame everyone and/or everything else but themselves. Rather than attempt to find the motivation to solve their problem, they are sure the answer lies somewhere else. While there are a small number of people who cannot help it due to physical manifestations (such as glandular/hormone imbalance), most of it is that these people are not watching what they are eating. The weight of an individual, for the most part, is totally manageable. It's just a question of whether or not they wish to do anything about it.
thats really a wierd reason to slim down. As another poster said, the normal reasons would be for personal health, family, a better future etc. The problem is that most people already know how to lose weight but have a motivation issue especially if they don't have a personal trainer.
The program that I'm on solves the issue by training the mind to accept the new fitness lifestyle and to crave healthy foods all the time. I've successfully lost 40lbs and went down from a 42 inch waist to a 38 inch waist. I can finally see my six packs for the first time in my life. If you're interested please head over to my site Rock-Abs.net
Ryan E. Parker
Many just don't understand the process here. In order to study the muscles, bones, joints and relationships thereof, you have to SEE them.
Taking the HOURS to dig through a half foot of fat doesn't teach anything.
Time as a med student is precious, and shouldn't be spent trimming fat.
That's what I learned on the fat online group; takes too long to dissect a fat person! That's common sense. But every med class should also have one or two fat corpses. "Normal" is a matter of opinion.
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@ DianaCox : thank u for your educated retort to this biased article. i am obese with numerous underlying factors and diseaes . this story saddens me . i've beenwanting to donate mine so the students can learn .i am a firm believer in advancing your education ie. college . i want someone to learn from my body .i loved college,miss it and wish i could be a lifetime student . i attended a State Tech College for EE degree.then another for certified Electronics Tech. always loved science ,math,just learning as much as possible in general. this" story" is agreeably prejudice against many people . you would think they would gladly accept one to study obesiety or my other countless diseases not related to my weight. this is a testimonial to the American public way of "thinking" in a perfect worrld,corpses are perfect ??????? nooooooo.I see your knowledge of many topics is excellent ,so for now I'm taking your word for it ie: weight of embalming fluids etc. i'm glad someone with your intelligence is pointing out the many flaws .for this i thank you .theres enough hatred in the world now , we don't need more..............
I do not believe in organ donation. I have forbidden the removal of any of my organs for donation under any circumstances. My wife knows my wishes and I have a living will. I believe that there are serious ethical and moral problems with organ donation that cannot be resolved. I believe instead in stem cell research to develop the technology to grow new organs.
Organ transplants can potentially be coerced or stolen. Laws can be written that mandate that criminals donate organs, and then laws could be written that criminalized more activities so more organs would be available. All of these scenarios lead to less freedom for individual and more control by government. My body belongs to me and me alone, not to the collective community. Take care of your own organs, and you will not need mine.
I have been absent from this topic a while. Google "The Dark Side of Organ Transplantation" for more information. I feel confident you have already read it. Most organ transplantation receive another major illness in exchange, the immune symptoms disorders. I concluded that kidney transplants do not extend life more than kidney dialysis; however, transplants are cheaper than the machines. I believe the cost savings is a main reason that US law has been rewritten to require that transplantation authorities call grieving survivors quickly to request organs if an appropriate match may exist. The medical profession will never call you to offer you or your loved ones help with a medical issue that may benefit you or your family. One researcher calls this "neocannibalism," and that is exactly what it is. It is not socially new to request tissue from a dead person for the living. Funerary practices have often included cannibalism. A Dallas transplant person mouthed that eight surgeons can be involved in the transplantation process. Yeah, they like the glory work. How many patients with less dramatic and profitable illnesses could those surgeons have helped in the same amount of time? Many illnesses get little or no treatment or research, so we get bullied into giving parts of our dead loved ones into helping someone the medical profession chooses to help. I am not opposed to transplantation or 100% voluntary organ donation. I had a close friend from high school who survived for many years with a kidney transplant.
This article is utter BS. Overweight people have enough stigma from the ignorant who think all you need to do is eat less and exercise more to become 'perfect' and it's a crock of garbage. Now they have to feel bad that they can't help people after they're dead? I think this article is reason enough for people to stop donating their bodies to science all together. To hell with research if we have to feel guilty after death for not contributing. BS. BS. BS.
THANK YOU JCA