How extreme weight transformation impact long-term health
Academy Award-winning Best Actor Brendan Fraiser has returned to the screen after a two-decade hiatus to play the role of Charlie, a homebound, obese man who teaches an online writing class in the film The whale. While the actor morphed into the 600-pound character with the help of a prosthetic fat suit, there have been numerous instances of actors pushing their weight to both extreme ends of the spectrum to fulfill a role.
185 pounds, 183 cm tall Christian Bale is perhaps the most famous example when it comes to actors devoting their bodies to their craft. He lost 63 pounds to play the caped superhero in the 2005 film Batman beginsIn 2013 she gained 43 kilos for the film American hustle. Both times, the actor only had a few months to reach the weight goal.
Renee Zellweger gained 20 pounds to play a character struggling with her weight in the 2001 hit The Diary of Bridget Jones.
While most normal people probably won’t need to change their bodies for a job, myriad factors can contribute to the sudden change in weight.
High-calorie or low-calorie dieting, or in extreme cases abstaining from coffee and cigarettes and engaging in rigorous cardio and strength training, strategies actors often rely on to prepare for a role, can have significant negative health effects.
Here we look at some long-term effects of extreme weight changes.
heart disease
Between pumping bodies full of fats and sugars to gain weight and starving and chain smoking, the heart beats as the body experiences weight changes. High or low blood pressure caused by lack of or excessive exercise can be extremely dangerous.
diabetes
Type 2 diabetes can be triggered by rapid weight gain. Excessive consumption of fats and sugars causes insulin resistance, according to the American Diabetes Association, and can seriously affect the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar levels.
Hormonal imbalance
Malnutrition can affect hormone levels and cause everything from loss of muscle density to disruption of the menstrual cycle to infertility.
Mental health
A distorted relationship with food can lead to everything from physical dysmorphia, anorexia and bulimia to general mental stress. It can take years, and sometimes decades, for those struggling with food and weight to emerge from the shadow of their eating disorder. Cultivating unhealthy eating habits can also have long-term effects on how and what we eat. Individuals have reported developing aversions to certain foods that they cut or eat during periods of extreme weight changes.
See also: Projections suggest half of the world’s population will be overweight by 2035 – here’s how to beat them Forecasts suggest half of the world’s population will be overweight by 2035 – here’s how to beat them