A cautionary tale

The obesity "epidemic" isn't just a concern during people's lifetime -- there are even problems after death. The current issue of the MJA contains a letter reporting the difficulties that obese and morbidly obese bodies cause for morgue staff and equipment. Lifting these corpses, some with a BMI of over 50, can be a serious OH&S issue. And it gets worse:

Putrefaction is hastened in morbidly obese individuals, and associated skin slippage and purging makes the bodies even more difficult to handle.

Humans are notoriously squeamish about what happens to their bodies after death. I think doctors should be capitalising on this to help paint the gruesome picture of life and death for the obese. Perhaps it might encourage some to improve their health during their lifetime.