Jamie Lopez, reality TV star and founder of a Las Vegas salon catering to plus-size women as part of the “body positivity” movement, died last weekend of heart failure at 37.
TMZ reported Lopez was hospitalized for heart complications. Her Babydoll Beauty Couture salon was featured on her We TV program “Super Sized Salon,” which debuted this summer.
The salon released a statement asking for “time to process this tremendous loss.” It added to “please keep our Babydoll family and team lifted in your hearts and prayers.”
We TV also issued a statement praising “Jamie’s passion to create a safe and welcoming environment for all women” at her company. The first season debuted in July and wrapped in September.
We are saddened to hear the news of the sudden passing of Jamie Lopez. Jamie’s passion to create a safe and welcoming environment for all women at Babydoll Beauty Couture will never be forgotten. Our thoughts and condolences are with her family and friends during this time. pic.twitter.com/LdXGAYvF4c
— WE tv (@WEtv) December 20, 2022
Lopez often said she began the venture in Las Vegas on a mission to form a niche in the beauty industry that shunned discrimination against plus-size women.
Lopez planned her company while confined to a bed and weighing 846 pounds. To realize her dream she shed 400 pounds, built the business, and became a TV star.
Unfortunately, the lifestyle changes that launched her business and propelled her to stardom were not in time.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the average lifespan for a U.S. female born in 1985 is approximately 80 years. And despite the recent trend towards “body positivity,” it is well documented that there is a strong link between obesity and heart conditions.
Some tout that people are “healthy at every size,” but raw data confirms the fallacy of this argument. Studies show that obese U.S. adults — or 40% of the population — are at higher risk for a wide variety of diseases and other health issues.
These include cancers, strokes, breathing difficulties, diabetes, and a long list of others. There are even mental health risks associated with being severely overweight.
Discrimination is wrong, but so is glorifying what is so clearly a hazard to good health and a long life. Americans are gaining even more weight and putting their lives at risk, and normalizing these behaviors is only making it worse.
