For most of his life, Hector Garcia Jr. battled severe obesity and all its consequences: the pain, the ridicule and the lost hopes. Bullied and ostracized as a child, he turned to food for comfort early. An untold number of people with severe obesity live in isolation like Garcia, unable to find or access the medical and psychological help they need to combat its pervasive effects.
For most of his life, Hector battled severe obesity and all its consequences: the pain, the ridicule and the lost hopes. Bullied and ostracized as a child, he turned to food for comfort early. Hector lived in San Antonio, Texas, a city that has a place on “fattest city†lists every year. Recent figures from Gallup show the city has the second-highest obesity rate among major U.S. cities. 31 percent of San Antonians are obese and 65.7 percent of adults in the county are overweight or obese. Despite San Antonio’s efforts to curb obesity, an untold number of people with severe obesity live in isolation like Garcia, unable to find or access the medical and psychological help they need to combat its pervasive effects.
“It was a catch 22. I ate because everything else in my life seemed out of control and when I ate, I ate what I wanted, when I wanted. Food never talked back to me. Food never made fun of me. And what I didn’t realize when I was young was food was killing me. And as an adult, I still derive a sense of happiness from eating just like an alcoholic derives satisfaction or happiness from drinking or a drug addict does from taking drugs. Being addicted to food is like being addicted to anything else except that being addicted to food you can never stop. You always have to have a certain amount of your fix. Imagine someone who takes cocaine, always having to take a little bit of cocaine, that’s the way it is for people who overeat. You can never stop eating,†explains Hector. “It’s a part of my every day life and I can never do without it. Its something I will always have to do therefore I will always have to fight this battle. I’m a food addict that will always have an addiction problem it’s just whether I will win that battle or the battle’s going to kill me.â€
After years of repeatedly gaining and losing hundreds of pounds, Garcia, who at one point weighed 636 pounds, once again was stuck in the back bedroom of his parents' modest house. In 2010, Garcia renewed his effort to lose weight. With only diet and exercise, he lost over 300 pounds, in hopes of receiving double knee replacement surgery he thought would change his life dramatically for the better. Two surgeries turned into four and Garcia was unable to exercise. He grew depressed and once again turned to food as comfort. Over the next year, Garcia regained the weight he had fought so hard to lose, continuing the cycle of obesity.
In 2013, Hector was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. As he continued to gain weight in 2014, the disease progressed and Hector struggled to breathe. On December 8, Hector walked 40 feet to answer the front door to let his mother in. He told her he couldn’t breathe and collapsed, unable to be revived at the age of 49.