The 750 Pound Man

Rishika Advani's documentary of John Keitz, a 750-pound man struggling to lose his extra weight and return to a normal life, is a sensitive portrayal of a man tormented by his size and inability to control his appetite. This timely documentary is so relevant as we continue to see news stories chronicling the increasing size of the American waistline. Keitz represents the extreme end of the spectrum of the overweight, but his story exemplifies the pain and frustration felt by hundreds of thousands of people who grapple with the stigma and physical challenges.

Keitz is an engaging man who was married at 500 pounds. The love of his wife Gina was as evident then when she said he was like a big, teddy bear, as it was throughout the 7 years that she took care of him while he was bedridden in their tiny apartment and put on an additional 150 pounds. Keitz finally enters a specialized nursing facility and vows to take off the weight and stand on his own two feet again. Advani's portrait of Keitz gives us reason to contemplate the complex factors that contribute to someone becoming overweight, and in some cases to a point that is clearly debilitating and dangerous. He is like an alcoholic, clearly out of control, yet a thoroughly likable man who just wants to be loved. The question of how we as friends or loved ones or how the medical community can help these people becomes imperative as we come to know John Keitz and realize he is not the only one out there suffering and struggling.