Does one have to be mentally ill in order to intentionally or unintentionally eat their way to ssbbw status? I've also noticed quite a few of these models have self harm scars on their limbs

You don't have to, but it helps.

It is objectively self-harm in its own way, isn't it?

Maybe it's the reverse. Bariatric surgery is associated with reduction in personality disorders, particularly avoidant PD: https://sci-hub.se/https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.12415

Food addiction, at the very least.

>>53973 (OP)
I knew that pic, it was an ass girl that sit over her cat.

My wife told me the reason she got so big (over 600 lbs at her biggest) was she was raped and wanted to make herself undesirable so gained over 200 lbs in like 2 years. Emotional eating tied to depression…not sure if that constitutes mental illness.

>>53973 (OP)
Its trauma from rape/abuse or mental illness every time. I have never once seen an exception to this rule, even among the much smaller (200-300lbs) girls I've dated. Its unfortunate and does make relationships more difficult by default.

strong agree that mental illness is rife among fat women. If not itself the cause of obesity, serious self-esteem problems quickly develop. The few fat women who accept themselves do so out of a delusional SJW sensibility. Frankly, feederism seems the only morally acceptable reason to be fat. The rest either hated themselves enough to gain weight, or hate themselves for having gained weight. Often both.