Dr Phil reaches out to morbidly obese 23-year-old who posted desperate plea for help on YouTube



A video plea by a morbidly-obese 22-year-old has earned him the help of television personality Dr Phil.

The man, named Robert Gibbs, who weighs between 600 and 700 lbs., attracted the attention of specialists since he made a YouTube video five days ago.

In the video, which has now been viewed nearly 900,000 times, the California native reveals his fear that he will die before his niece and nephew grow up.

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Desperate Plea: Twenty-three-year-old Robert took to the Internet to issue an emotional cry for help to overcome his weight problem, and so far his video has been viewed more than 900,000 times

Just one day shy of his 23rd birthday at the time of filming, he claims to have tried everything from dieting to hospital treatment in a bid to shift his weight.

Choking back tears, Robert says the video could be his 'last chance'.

He adds: 'I don't care if you make fun of me.'

The heart-wrenching message caught national attention and was passed on to exactly the people that he had hoped would see his plea.



‘We were contacted by the local (television) affiliate earlier this afternoon and immediately reached out to Robert in order to answer his call for help,’ said Stacey Luchs, spokeswoman for the Dr. Phil show.

Mr Gibbs appeared on CBS News just one day after the video was posted- which was his 23rd birthday- and said that it was exactly the response that he had so desperately hoped for.

‘I’m getting the exposure I needed,’ he said.

‘I better start getting ready for the tornado that’s about to become my life. I guess it is a good birthday for me.’

In the video, Mr Gibbs said that one of the main reasons that he wanted to lose weight was in order to see his niece and nephew grow up.

'I just had a nephew born on February 15, I also have a niece who was born on August 16, 2007.

Helping hands: Producers from the Dr Phil show have reached out to Mr Gibbs, along with former contestants from the weight-loss show The Biggest Loser



'I'm making this video because I don't know what else to do.

'I've tried losing weight on my own, tried doing everything possible, been on diet, been hospitalised, always done what needed to be done, but then, I gained the weight back.

The 23-year-old lives with his mother, sister, and her two children in Livermore, California outside of Oakland.

His sister, Nichole Gibbs, said that she didn’t know her brother was making the video until reporters began calling to interview her.

‘I'm happy he's doing this and he's getting a lot of feedback on it,’ she told Mercury News.

‘It's going to help him, and I'm glad for that.’

In the 3-minute video, Mr Gibbs says that he has tried diets and hospital treatments to help him lose weight but nothing has worked.

‘'I'm just trying to get some help from somebody, a nutritionist, a personal trainer, Dr Phil, Biggest Loser, anything or anybody who knows.'

And that he did, as alumni of the show The Biggest Loser have also reached out and offered encouragement.

Mr Gibbs asked viewers to post the clip to improve his chances of finding an expert to help him.

He says: 'Please repost this video, get it to go viral, get it to be one of the most watched videos ever, eventually someone will see it and then maybe I can get some help.

'For anybody who is going to make fun of me, I really don't care. This is my last hope.

'I'm really scared that I'm not going to be able to watch my niece or my nephew grow up, and I'm not going to be able to have a family of my own.