Obesity explored on MTV's 'True Life'

Obesity explored on MTV's 'True Life'

By Steve Johnson

Chicago Tribune

Thoughtfulness and sensitivity, it almost goes without saying, are not MTV's standard modes.

But in the summertime documentary series "True Life," airing Thursdays at 10 p.m., the cable channel steps back from its usual pop- culture flash to give viewers close-up looks at a variety of extraordinary subjects.

In this week's episode, "I'm Obese," producer Kimberly Cowin is careful to let her three subjects speak for themselves, becoming, in effect, their own prosecutors and defense attorneys.

Corey, 17, from Texas, weighs more than 400 pounds and knows he has big problems facing him. He's mocked on the street and too big to fit in a desk at school, but he's also got a winning personality. His tragedy is that he latches onto the possibility of gastric bypass surgery as a cure-all. Maybe it will help him, but in the short term it becomes his excuse to eat whatever and whenever he wants.

Amy, in her mid-20s, is left virtually immobile by her weight of about 560 pounds. The camera doesn't hesitate to show the folds of skin and the problems having so much of it can cause. Luckily, Amy has what seems to be a caring (and only beefy) husband, and she, too, decides on surgery as her salvation.

Frances, 24, is just 215 pounds and seemingly much happier with her weight as she seeks work as a plus-size model. But it's a bad sign when she meets her boyfriend at a restaurant and pulls from her purse a personal bottle of ranch salad dressing.

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