Here’s what an obese body looks like — from the inside

The newly opened Portland Science Center recently invited me to tour its “Body Worlds” exhibit, a striking collection of preserved human cadavers and organs designed to illustrate, in the most graphic of detail, the consequences of unhealthy living. The displays related to obesity seemed particularly worth checking out as we head into the Thanksgiving and holiday season, when some of us *might* tend to overeat and skip a workout, or two, or three…

The exhibit leaves nothing to the imagination, featuring the cadaver of a real 330-pound person dissected lengthwise. A thick layer of fat cushions both outside and in, crowding the internal organs. Like the other cadavers on display, the obese body was preserved through “plastination,” a process that replaces body fluids with plastic and cures the specimens into a rigid model.

PORTLAND, MAINE -- 11/24/15 -- A slice of a 330-pound human body (left) sits next to one of a more normally sized person in a display on obesity at the Body Worlds exhibit at the Portland Science Center on Tuesday. Troy R. Bennett | BDN

PORTLAND, MAINE — 11/24/15 — A slice of a 330-pound human body (left) sits next to one of a more normally sized person in a display on obesity at the Body Worlds exhibit at the Portland Science Center on Tuesday. Troy R. Bennett | BDN

By comparison, next to it lies a slice of a person of normal weight, with a markedly narrower frame and vibrantly red abdominal cavity where its obese counterpart is awash in unctuous white.

The health effects of excess weight are many, from heart disease to diabetes. But seeing the toll it takes on the body in such unsparing, graphic detail hammers home the dangers more than any lecture from a doctor.

PORTLAND, MAINE -- 11/24/15 -- Two women examine a slice of a 330-pound human body (right) sitting next to one of a more normally-sized person in a display on obesity at the Body Worlds exhibit at the Portland Science Center on Tuesday. Troy R. Bennett | BDN Troy R. Bennett | BDN

PORTLAND, MAINE — 11/24/15 — Two women examine the obesity display at the Body Worlds exhibit at the Portland Science Center on Tuesday. Troy R. Bennett | BDN

Groups of middle and high school students filed through the exhibit while we were there, and I’ve never seen so many kids so quiet. “Whoa, I wonder what I look like on the inside…” one girl muttered under her breath as she viewed the obesity display.

PORTLAND, MAINE -- 11/24/15 -- A museum-goer walks by a display on obesity at the Body Worlds exhibit at the Portland Science Center on Tuesday. Troy R. Bennett | BDN

PORTLAND, MAINE — 11/24/15 — A museum-goer walks by a display on obesity at the Body Worlds exhibit at the Portland Science Center on Tuesday. Troy R. Bennett | BDN

The exhibit also illustrates the physical benefits of healthy choices. A display of a gymnast, arched backwards on a balance beam, is all lean muscle and flexibility.

“You do not have to be a competitive athlete to stay fit. Those who train regularly and, most importantly, correctly and in moderation, promote their health, body awareness, and self-confidence,” reads a placard titled “Tune Your Body.”

The rest of the show includes bodies arranged in various poses — one’s kicking a soccer ball — and dissected to display the body’s inner workings, such as nerves and arteries.

German anatomist Gunther von Hagens, inventor of the plastination process, created the exhibit to educate the public about the intricacies of the human body — and to warn viewers of the perils of failing to care for it.

For information on the Body Worlds exhibit, which runs through the end of the year, visit Portlandsciencecenter.com.

 

 

Jackie Farwell

About Jackie Farwell

I'm the health editor for the Bangor Daily News, a Bangor native, a UMaine grad, and a weekend crossword warrior. I never get sick of writing about Maine people, geeking out over health care data, and finding new ways to help you stay well. I live in Gorham with my husband Nick and our hound dog Riley.