Meet the woman who is willing to risk death to get the world's biggest hips

With the prevalence of social media these days, we're constantly being warned about the pressures of "body goals" and wanting to meet a certain standard when it comes to our physical appearances. However, as there aren't many folks out there advocating for people to be overweight, we don't often assume that individuals will go out of their way to pile on the pounds.

And yet, it happens.

Bobbi-Jo Westley, a 44-year-old woman from Pennsylvania, has made it her life's mission to have the biggest hips in the world - and it seems she'll stop at nothing to achieve the title.

As it stands, the widest part of her measures 95 inches (nearly 8 feet) in diameter, but the record is currently held by LA-based Mikel Ruffinelli, who has 99-inch hips. While a four-inch difference might not seem like much to someone who is already so large, the excess weight could end up killing her.

Currently weighing in at 542lbs (38.7 stone) and standing only 5 ft 2 in tall, Westley is morbidly obese. She has been warned time and time again by doctors that her quest to have the biggest hips in the world is slowly destroying her, but she won't listen.

"My hips are what makes me unique. It’s what makes me ‘me'," she says.

What's more, Westley is severely in denial about her physical state, and has convinced herself that her large size is solely down to a thyroid condition. Unfortunately, many nutritionists have begged to differ.

"Hormones, or thyroid issues, or blood type or ancestry might play a little part, but ultimately it’s down to what we put into our mouth," explains Nadia Sharifi, a health expert;

"When we're talking about her veins, she can have a block very easily. She is really, truly a ticking time bomb.

"She is definitely in a place where it is very hard for the people to be - it’s not that she needs to lose 50 pounds, she needs to lose over 200 pounds."

However, Westley insists that there are many perks to being the size she is, and even claims that she gets a lot of attention from men because of her figure.

"When I realized that there where men out there who like my shape, I was kind of surprised," she says.

"I get all kinds of presents and messages from my fans, some of them ask ‘will you marry me?' which is kind of hard because I’m already married."

Perhaps the worst part about all of this is that Westley has children, and she still isn't prioritizing her lifespan over her status.

"I understand that I’m putting myself at risk by trying to get the world’s biggest hips," she says. "I am worried about my health sometimes because of my size - I know that it is not healthy.

"My doctor asked me if I had ever considered gastric bypass and I do have a fear of dying. But it’s just something that I have to do and I take it one day at a time. I want to be remembered for something, and I think having the world’s biggest hips is what I was meant to be remembered for."

Hopefully, Westley will see the problem with her pursuit sooner rather than later, and do her best to get healthy for the sake of herself and her family.