Nicole Richie's Gastric Bypass

Posted by Deanna Couras Goodson Nov 22, 2006

Nicole Richie can't catch a break. When she had a few extra pounds on her, she was teased and reviled in the tabloids. She was called horrendous names for being slightly overweight. Personally, I thought she looked healthy - and much better than Paris when she had meat on her bones, but I'm a latina and we appreciate a woman with curves.

Then, "The Simple Life" star went on a diet. She lost weight pretty quickly and seemed to shrink right before our eyes. Nicole has the look of a girl with an eating disorder, although she denies she does. I don't know either way, only Nicole and the people around her know for sure. I worry about the girl and only wish her health, happiness and good fortune.

A few weeks ago, Nicole announced she was getting medical attention to figure out why she wasn't gaining weight. A new rumor has surfaced - that Nicole had a gastric bypass reversal?

What - the girl wasn't more than 20-30 lbs overweight at her heaviest. She couldn't have been. A gastric bypass is only for those who are seriously overweight. My sister had one and it nearly killed her. Gastric bypass is heavy-duty, major surgery even if you go for the new, laproscopic band. Nicole could not have hard gastric bypass surgery - at least not performed by a reputable surgeon. So, she couldn't have had a reversal of surgery she never had, right?

Nicole, for her part, is vehemently denying this. She had this to say, "Anyone that knows anything about this surgery would know that legally, you must be at least 100 pounds overweight to even have the surgery done, and is a serious, life-changing procedure; not one to throw around as a joke or a rumor."

Maybe people confused the fact that Nicole's ex-fiancee, DJ AM, Adam Goldstein, had a gastric bypass. Adam was over 300 lbs before the surgery. Perhaps, instead of bothering Nicole about her weight, we should offer her encouragement, support and sympathy. I'm tired of Hollywood's obsession with 'unnatural thinness' and how they drive women to seek out ideals that are hardly healthy nor possible for many.

Just look at that sad case of Brazilian supermodel, Ana Carolina Reston. She died last week of anorexia. The poor girl was 88 lbs and lived on a diet of apples and tomatoes towards the end of her short, tragic life.

Instead of wondering if Nicole has an eating disorder, why not wonder why people get them at all? What is it that drives people to be thin? Why is our society so obsessed with it? Why do we care so much about what numbers on the scale say?