I believe the problem on this particular show was that they were actually ADDICTED to food. The woman was going through these cycles of eating because she loved everything about it, the smells, tastes, everything. She was addicted to it. Then afterwards she'd feel extremely depressed because she ate so much. This depression led to more eating to make herself feel better. So if you believe that addiction is a disease, then this morbidly obese person had a disease.
An interesting side note, I had no idea a human body has a pre set number of fat cells. They swell and/or shrink, but normally don't divide to make more fat cells. But once they are all at maximum capacity, they do divide. I believe this show said an average person has about 4 billion fat cells. This lady had up to an estimated 100 billion fat cells. Now, even if she loses weight, she will always have these extra fat cells. She'll probably have difficulty keeping weight off because of this.
An interesting side note, I had no idea a human body has a pre set number of fat cells. They swell and/or shrink, but normally don't divide to make more fat cells. But once they are all at maximum capacity, they do divide. I believe this show said an average person has about 4 billion fat cells. This lady had up to an estimated 100 billion fat cells. Now, even if she loses weight, she will always have these extra fat cells. She'll probably have difficulty keeping weight off because of this.