Experts on Kim Jong Eun’s Rapid Weight Gain


State media images of Kim Jong Eun dating back to 2012 reveal a rapid weight gain.
 Image: Rodong Sinmun

Images and video of Kim Jong Eun released by North Korean state media leave no doubts among the international community about the
young leader’s obesity. Daily NK culled a number of images of Kim Jong Eun, spanning the course of his leadership to date, to gain expert insight on possible causes behind and consequences of the young leader’s rapid weight gain.
 

“There are various factors that make Kim
irrefutably vulnerable to a heart attack. He has a family history: both his
grandfather, Kim Il Sung, and his father, Kim Jong Il, died from heart attacks.
Moreover, he’s a heavy smoker and obese,” said an internal medicine doctor who
spoke with Daily NK on the condition of anonymity. “If Kim Jong Eun also has
high blood pressure or diabetes, his risk of heart attack jumps to 20 times
than that of others. Even if he had neither high blood pressure nor diabetes,
he still faces a five to tenfold risk of heart attack over others.”
 

On possible reasons for Kim’s extreme
obesity, the doctor responded, “There could be manifold reasons: irregular activity patterns, lack of exercise, stress, overeating, etc. It’s
very possible that since his surgery to remove a cyst from from his right
ankle–the result of tarsal tunnel syndrome [a condition caused by compression
of the tibial nerve in the foot]– he has been less active. This syndrome often occurs because of a rapid
increase in weight.”
 

Without the opportunity to personally test his blood, the internal medicine physician could not offer her diagnosis, but speculated that, based on his weight, his cholesterol levels are likely to be off the charts. “There is a high likelihood that he is
suffering from metabolic syndrome, a hodgepodge of pre-diabetes symptoms such
as high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia, and obesity,” she said.

A clinical psychologist in Seoul also
offered insight into Kim Jong Eun’s health condition, noting that the incessant stress
of governing a state may be the largest contributing factor to the young leader’s rapid weight gain. “When people binge eat to alleviate depression, their
weight can skyrocket to five to ten percent of their original weight within
three months,” he explained. “Given the fact that he enjoys drinking and
smoking so much, it seems safe to say that he’s probably not good at
controlling his urges; I think we can speculate that, at the very least, he
temporarily binge ate.”
 

He added, “It’s hard to know the exact
reasons [behind his condition], but it can be inferred that Kim suffers from immense psychological
pressure or internal conflicts derived from ruling a country.”