Yes, unfortunately they can live quite long, the wonders of modern medicine. No one's saying they're in good health, which is the subject of the article vis a vis their medical bills. The thing is that when you are so fat, you don't have to do anything, and not put any strain on your body, which would damage it and accelerate the death process; other people will feed and clean you, and the state will pay for you to continue to live. Heart attacks, strokes, joint problems, beetus complications, all those can be patched up by doctors, if caught early enough. If neglected, obesity diseases do their work quickly.