I have a friend of mine that is MORBIDLY OBESE and we chat occasionally on FB. The last time we chatted she was still going through the process to apply for disability while she has also been denied numerous times. She's been married and divorced once with no children, lives with her mother who does receive a disability check. My friend swears up and down she has 18, yes 18, different illnesses right now. But honestly I think those are secondary to her obesity as many of them could be preventable and/or well managed with weight loss. I also wonder if there is an underlying mental illness playing that could have contributed to her being 'sick' all the time thus 'unable to work', thus sitting at home and eating all the time. She was big to begin with, but I think she is getting bigger. Here is some of what she claims that I can remember right off:
asthma
diabetes
high blood pressure
severe back pain
breathing difficulty outside of asthma (yes she told me this exactly, can't figure it out as she claimed she did not have COPD/chronic emphysema.)
re-curring bronchitis
stomach pain
Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD)
Migraines.
Severe allergic reactions (swears any smell can trigger it, thus will not get out of the house except to see the doctor and go to the SS Office for appointments.)
dermatitis (this I can vouch for, her skin is so plagued by fat her pores will clog up and become infected)
psoriasis (chronic dry itchy skin that becomes infected)
vision problems (this could be from the diabetes as she was 'normal' while she was working.
fibromyalgia.
and a few more I can't remember but those were the ones I recall her mentioning to me the last time we chatted.
I think a lot of these are SECONDARY to her morbid obesity and here's why:
1. She is so morbidly obese that her chest wall is literally crushing down on her rib cage thus reducing overall lung capacity, when you are an asthmatic this can be dangerous as overexertion can possibly trigger an asthma attack With my friend she swears she has at least one attack a day. Her constant attacks could also be causing the re-curring bronchitis, but I would need to do some actual pathophysiology to see if this is possible. I'm not a Dr. or an RT, so I don't know.
2. Her back pain can be caused by her morbid obesity. The spine is only so strong and when it exceeds its limits it begins to deteriorate. Back pain is a sign of this deterioration. Her spine may not be able to support her body, her weight exceeds its limit.
3. Her Fibromyalgia could be due to the fact that she moves very little, when you stay in one position for too long, you begin to hurt. Very little is actually known about FMS, but it is usually considered 'unexplainable all over body pain that can be debilitating.' I'm not saying she doesn't have it, but the root of her pain could again be due to morbid obesity, poor diet, lack of exercise/movement.
4. Her dermatitis could be secondary to her obesity. Psoriasis usually isn't as it affects people from all walks of life of all shapes and sizes and to varying degrees.
5. Diabetes could be due to obesity, poor diet, and a lack of exercise. I didn't think she was diagnosed with this before she quit working, but I could be wrong. I can't judge her medical history nor is it my business. Just stating what is related to the thread without revealing identifying information.
6. Her vision problems could also be due to her diabetes if it is not being well-managed.
I love her as a friend and I have politely encouraged her to get out of the house a little bit to just walk around the yard a little bit, just anything to get moving and get outside where there is fresh air. Finally when she told me she has 18 diseases right now, I couldn't believe it and I just told her what I thought. I told her a lot of those ailments are preventable and/or be well-managed to where she can work. We got into an argument (I admit I probably lacked some bedside manner), and we've not talked since. I am just going to let it blow over and when she gets over it, she can be the first to come talk as I have left her a message that she is free to talk to me when she feels ready to.
I just personally think a lot of her health problems are obesity related and maybe her SS case worker is obvious to this and keeps having her case denied as a subtle sign that this is reversible and if she chooses to, she can reverse it and become employable again, but she will have to do it herself, not someone else doing it for her. Everytime I tried to politely encourage her to get up and move and do something besides lay in bed or sit in the recliner all day she would make up excuses as to why she couldn't/can't do it.
As for obesity be related to income, I don't know if we will ever actually find a direct correlation there as there are obese people at all income levels in all walks of life. Like for instance John Tyson, CEO of Tyson Foods, Inc. is a millionaire but looking at him, he probably would be considered 'obese' by health professionals and dietitians.
Then there are people who are line workers at Tyson who are bone thin because they can't afford to eat and have 3 kids. They always buy enough food for the kids and will not eat so that they make sure their kids are well fed. They are taller than me and they are sharing clothes with their 9 year old daughter to save money. They realize the situation is not the kids fault, but they make the best of it they can by providing everything their kids need and a tiny bit of what they want and they know the distinction between the two. I doubt this is due a lack of planning but rather just a bad set of circumstances that put them in survival mode.
Yeah that's me....... REAL priviledged childhood. 
