Family who are 'too fat to work'

[KoolDrew]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/new...its-is-not-enough.html

Family who are 'too fat to work' say £22,000 worth of benefits is not enough

A family of four with a combined weight of 83 stone say they are "too fat to work" and need more than the £22,000 they currently receive in benefits.

By Urmee Khan
Last Updated: 4:12PM GMT 17 Mar 2009

Philip Chawner, 53, and his 57-year-old wife Audrey weigh 24st. Their daughter Emma, 19, weighs 17st, while her older sister Samantha, 21, weighs 18st.

The family from Blackburn claim £22,508 a year in benefits, equivalent to the take-home pay from a £30,000 salary.

The Chawners, haven't worked in 11 years, claim their weight is a hereditary condition and the money they receive is insufficient to live on.

Mr Chawner said: "What we get barely covers the bills and puts food on the table. It's not our fault we can't work. We deserve more."

The family claim to spend £50 a week on food and consume 3,000 calories each a day. The recommended maximum intake is 2,000 for women and 2,500 for men.

"We have cereal for breakfast, bacon butties for lunch and microwave pies with mashed potato or chips for dinner," Mrs Chawner told Closer magazine.

"All that healthy food, like fruit and veg, is too expensive. We're fat because it's in our genes. Our whole family is overweight," she added.

Each week, Mr and Mrs Chawner, who have been married for 23 years, receive £177 in income support and incapacity benefit. Mrs Chawner is paid an extra £330-a-month disability allowance for epilepsy and asthma, both a result of being overweight.

Mr Chawner gets £71 a month after developing Type 2 diabetes because of his size. He was on a waiting list for a gastric band last year, but a heart condition made the operation unsuitable. Their daughter Samantha receives £84 in Jobseekers' Allowance each fortnight while Emma, who is training to be a hairdresser, gets £58 every two weeks under a hardship fund for low-income students.

Emma, said: "I'm a student and don't have time to exercise" she said "We all want to lose weight to stop the abuse we get in the street, but we don't know how."

:roll:

 

[SociallyChallenged]

There's no way I can comment seriously on this or else I will become infuriated. That is utter crap. Clearly, there is some genetic component to obesity. However, eating 3000 calories a day != genetic. "Ohhh, we can't buy fruits and veggies 'cause they're too expensive." Well you know what? Eat less of your crap. If you ate 2k calories, you'd lose weight, save money, be able to get a job, and then be able to buy fruits and veggies. And in reference to the "I'm a student" excuse. Really? Take responsibility for your lack of drive. Hairdressing school. That's not even real goddamn school. I know people in medical school who make the time to exercise and eat right because it's so important. These people are why everybody makes fun of those who are fat and don't do anything about it. It's just whining and excuses. I'm actually more sad if they believe the ridiculous lies coming out of their own mouths.

 

[InflatableBuddha]

Already posted in OT.

And you should see some of the responses there!

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Originally posted by: InflatableBuddha
Already posted in OT.

And you should see some of the responses there!

P&N too This story really hit a nerve with people. The idea that someone is sitting around stuffing their face. on your hard earned, tax payers dime, is definitely a a bitter pill to swallow. That they want/think they deserve more, is the kick in the groin. Oh, and the pathetic excuses for their condition.

This is the UK, but there are doubtless moderately to morbidly obese people here in the states getting SSD and other gov, services because of health issues stemming from their weight problem.

 

[TecHNooB]

We try so hard to negate Darwin's hard work 😛

 

[silverpig]

The OT thread is pretty good. They should at least stuff envelopes for work or something.

 

[presidentender]

Ya know what? The fattest people I know (again, a family), pretty good friends of mine, all work. The mother and the daughter are managers of a convenience store and a casino, respectively. The father and the son are auto mechanics. The folk in the story are full of shit, not because they're fat and claim inability to change, but because they claim inability to work. Even if we take the "good food costs too much" excuse at face value, it's still invalid. Make some more money. Now I have to go punch some walls.