If "most hated" awards were given on TLC's "My 600-lb Life" the Oscar would go to Steven Assanti. The 850-lb man bullies everyone, curses his caregivers, lies to Dr. Younan Nowzaradan and blatantly sabotages his own weight-loss. Assanti seems like a big fat loser with one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel. But there's more to the reality television star's story, and it demonstrates how the "stinkin' thinkin" of addiction drives obesity.
Steven Assanti wins no popularity contests
Assanti has a long, dark history on Facebook and Twitter. As FatBoyGetDown on YouTube, he engaged in racist rants and hurled vile accusations against the American healthcare system which he says failed him. Steven flaunts his taxpayer-funded obesity, over-eating, medical care, and bragged about exploiting Medicaid and food stamps. The Reality TV star made news for getting himself kicked out of a bariatric surgery program after ordering pizza. His dad cried out for help with his son, who was so big that he had to live in the back of dad's truck. Dr. Now agreed to try surgery, but had to kick Assanti off "My 600-lb Life" because he was so obscenely rude.
Dr. Now says opioid use is more dangerous than obesity
Assanti blamed his food addiction but dad and brother Justin Assanti warned that it went beyond over-eating. They keyed in to his opioid drug habit as the source of the obesity. Steven himself proudly explained to rehab doctors how he tricked hospitals into doping him with painkillers for alleged "injuries." He boasted on "My 600-lb Life" how doctors gave him a Tramadol or hydrocodone IV and then sent him home with hundreds of Vicodin or oxycodone pills. Opioid use seems to go hand in glove with obesity, and Dr. Now says addiction is one of the biggest roadblocks to weight-loss and gastric bypass surgery.
Steven Assanti screams drug addict loud and clear
Assanti isn't the first morbidly obese drug addict Dr. Now has treated on "My 600-lb Life," but he is the cleverest. Steven manipulated caregivers into feeding his opioid habit. Facebook fans were shocked at how folks put up with him. But that's the cunning, baffling nature of addictive behavior and the stinking thinking of co-dependency that Alanon describes. Steven actually lost 150 pounds, then sabotaged bariatric surgery just to prove he was in control. It wasn't food that tripped him up but drug-induced lack of inhibition. You can hear addiction in his obnoxious rants. Steven Assanti showed that it's harder to quit painkillers than to lose weight, but he also showed that when folks get clean, weight-loss often happens, as if by magic.