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What is wrong with Chris’ voice on 1000 Pound Sisters?

What is wrong with Chris Combs’ voice on 1000 Pound Sisters?

Introduction

Fans, followers, and critics of the TLC reality television show 1000-lb Sisters have a lot of questions.

Who is Tammy Slaton dating this week?

Why did Amy Slaton move out of Tammy’s house?

How did they get so big?

Where did all the loose skin go?

The list of questions goes on, but one of the most common ones we see is about fan favorite, and brother of Tammy and Amy: Chris Combs.

And that question is: What is wrong with Chris Combs’ voice on 1000-lb Sisters?

Chris’ voice is definitely unique, and it makes sense that fans want to know what’s going on. Is he sick? Has he always sounded that way? Is it an obesity thing?

We’ve got the answers you need, and a whole lot more about the cast of one of the most fascinating reality TV families of 2022.

What is 1000-lb Sisters?

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Chris Combs (@chris.combs.5243)


1000-lb Sisters is a reality television series that airs on the TLC network.

It follows the lives of Tammy Slaton and Amy Slaton-Halterman, two Dixon, Kentucky, residents—and siblings—who are morbidly obese.

The show chronicles the lives of the two women—who initially live together—as they attempt to lose weight and get bariatric surgery.

Amy, the smaller of the two women, is married to Michael, and the pair have a dog and a baby together.

Amy’s pregnancy was revealed in the second season, after she was rushed to hospital in an episode titled, “Life Altering News.”

Despite Amy’s ups and downs on the weight loss journey, she has found renewed motivation following the birth of her son, and with the support of her husband.

Tammy, who is often slated as the baby of the show—despite her age and massive size—is the only one of the siblings to have been rejected for gastric bypass surgery.

The rejection comes after her repeated failures to stick to a diet plan, and the fact that she gained a staggering 100 pounds leading up to her weigh in in 2022.

Who is Chris Combs?

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Chris Combs (@chris.combs.5243)


Chris Combs is the brother of Tammy and Amy Slaton, the eponymous sisters of the TLC show 1000-lb Sisters.

Chris was born on October 29, 1980, in Princeton, Kentucky. Aside from Tammy and Amy, the siblings have another brother named Steven.

The family grew up in Shawneetown, Illinois, and Chris has shared that his relationship with food—just like that of his sisters—was weird from a young age.

To compound the issue, his family didn’t have healthy eating habits anyway.

Chris’s father weighed between 400 and 500 pounds by the time he passed away at age 57.

His mother was also morbidly obese, and his sisters—as we all know—went on to star in a show about having a combined weight of 1,000 pounds.

Straight out of high school, Chris went to work for Tyson Foods, before moving on to fast-food giant McDonald’s.

At both jobs, there was always a large amount of free food on offer—and Chris struggled with overeating and bingeing throughout his time with both companies.

Goal setting with Chris Combs

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Chris Combs (@chris.combs.5243)


As his weight ballooned, Combs committed to getting it under control in order to be there for his family long-term.

“I want to be around my family. They are my everything.”

Combs married his sweetheart, Brittany, in 2016, and the pair have two children together—a daughter named Emily, and a son named Brandon.

It is obvious to everyone watching the 1000-lb Sisters that Combs has the drive and ambition to succeed at his weight loss—and succeed he has.

He has shared on the show that his biggest milestones are being able to play football with his daughter and family—adding that he would love to see both his sisters get active enough to play, too.

His other primary motivation is for his daughter to see him succeed and be inspired to stick to her goals as she gets older.

Weight loss with Chris Combs

While sister Tammy Slaton—the show’s problem child with her temper tantrums and impossible 100-pound weight gain while on a diet—may be ballooning out of control, both her siblings are trimming down before fans’ eyes.

In April of 2022, Chris posted two side by side snapshots of himself on Instagram, showcasing his 140-pound weight loss.

From a starting weight of somewhere above 400 pounds to a much healthier 260, Combs was also able to get off insulin following his bariatric surgery in season 3.

Dr. Eric Smith approved Combs for the procedure after seeing his commitment to healthier living and his ability to stick with a strict program—both factors that Tammy failed to meet.

At a family dinner—prepared by Chris—he announced that he had been approved for surgery.

Tammy became sullen and weepy, and the family ended up leaving Tammy’s trailer.

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So, what happened to Chris Combs’ voice?

As it turns out, it’s a combination of things.

For starters, Chris Combs was a smoker for decades prior to quitting after his son was born.

This can affect the throat, lungs, and vocal cords, and cause the permanently raspy voice Chris is known for.

On top of that, he is also an asthmatic, which can contribute to his gravelly sound.

The Mayo Clinic also states that vocal cord dysfunction is a similar issue to asthma and can cause similar issues.

In addition, obesity can cause strain to the laryngeal airway, neck, and chest wall, which can impact the way our vocal cords function and cause a slight rumble and chesty sound.

Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disorder (GERD) is another common issue in which the larynx becomes inflamed, and sufferers need to force their voice out to make it heard—causing it to sound hoarse and throaty.

Finally, one fan theory is that Combs’ voice sounds this way because he is an ex-smoker, suffers from acid reflux, and is recovering from bad body aches.

According to the 1000-lb Sisters sub-Reddit, others in the same position have a similar tone of voice.

Whatever the reasons, Chris himself says he has always talked like that and never heard any comments about his voice until appearing on the TLC hit show.

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