Two sisters struggle with obesity and health complications after gaining 30kg

Jeong-suk and her sister are facing life-threatening health issues, including high blood pressure and hyperlipidemia, after gaining approximately 25–30kg due to shared eating habits. To combat their high BMI and visceral fat, the sisters have begun a dietary regimen using tofu rice and low-sodium meals.

Health issues accompanying obesity are threatening the lives of two sisters. Through TV CHOSUN LIFE, the process of these sisters—whose physiques and health conditions have become as similar as their appearances—suffering from repeated yo-yo effects and resulting complications was revealed.

The sisters, who once boasted fit physiques while maintaining normal weights, have now gained approximately 25–30kg compared to before they were married. As their physiques grew, daily inconveniences increased, such as buttons popping or clothes tearing because they could no longer fit into the clothes they used to wear together. The sisters expressed that while they could share clothes in the past, they have undergone such physical changes that they now have nothing to wear except elastic waistbands.

Similar eating habits and complications arriving like a parallel theory

The sisters' weight gain and deteriorating health stem from similar eating habits. They have maintained similar food patterns, continuing to prefer stews and salted seafoods they enjoyed since childhood, such as soy-marinated crab, salted pollock roe, and salted long-arm octopus.

These eating habits have brought about various diseases alongside obesity. The older sister, Jeong-suk, is taking medication for high blood pressure and hyperlipidemia, and is facing difficulties in health management due to issues such as gastric ulcers, intestinal polyps, and adenomas. Beyond simple changes in appearance, the sisters' obesity is leading to complications that threaten systemic health, including high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia, and visceral fat issues.

Special dietary management starting with tofu rice and salad

To escape persistent abdominal fat and health problems, the sisters have embarked on serious dietary management. To reduce carbohydrate intake, they have made "tofu rice"—made by stir-frying tofu and eggs instead of rice—their staple food, pairing it with chicken breast salad to lower calories. They are attempting to continue their diet by preparing low-sodium meals instead of stimulating foods.

However, even during dietary management, the intense temptation of snacks arriving around 9 p.m. remains an ongoing challenge. Due to habits of enjoying snacks like ice cream or sandwiches containing cheese, they are experiencing difficulty controlling the hunger and irritability that occur at specific times during the process of regulating their diet.

"Extreme diets leave obesity memories"... the cause of the yo-yo effect

Tests conducted to check the sisters' exact health status showed that both have body mass indices (BMI) and body fat percentages exceeding the normal range, indicating an urgent need for visceral fat management. An expert analysis followed regarding the repeated weight fluctuations and the yo-yo effect.

Excessively starving oneself or extremely reducing food intake can actually solidify obesity. This is because excessive restriction of meals leaves a "obesity memory" in the fat cells, causing the body to remember the obese state and hardening the constitution in a direction that makes it increasingly easy to gain weight. As these changes accumulate, it results in a vicious cycle of obesity that repeats as a daily occurrence.

Source: TVCHOSUN JOY (YouTube)