FYI, You’re Probably Paying for Patients’ Surgeries on ‘My 600-lb Life’

On nearly every episode of My 600-lb Life, the stars of the show undergo weight loss surgery so they have a second shot at life. But who pays for it? With little mobility and no apparent income, fans wonder just how these people are able to afford such a seemingly large expense.

According to one Quora user, TLC pays for it. "I'm guessing whatever expenses are not covered by the patient’s insurance is taken care of by the show," one person wrote. "In exchange for this, they get to film intimate moments of the patient's life." Another, however, had a different theory. "Almost everyone who weighs that much is disabled. They most likely qualify for disability, Section 8 housing, and Medicaid."

Morbid obesity is associated with such ailments as hypertension, diabetes, hypertriglyceridemia, degenerative joint disease, sleep apnea, pulmonary hypertension, and more. Because each of these ailments are capable of killing the patient, they most likely qualify for long-term disability and benefits. In other words, taxpayers like you and me are the ones footing the bill!

Kamran Karimi, M.D., added, "Add to that this sickening fetish of our culture to relish in their misery, hence TV shows like My 600-lb Life, and guess what? Shows like this are enablers, a positive reinforcement. If you are a TV show star, eat what you want, lay around all day, and the taxpayer pay(s) your bills, why in the world would you want to get better, lose weight, and get back up on your own two feet?" They continued, "I know what I am saying is cruel and callous and downright politically incorrect, but it is times like this when I say: You know where the word sympathy lies in the English dictionary? Between s–t and syphilis!" Well, there you have it?

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