Steve Jobs stepped on the stage yesterday in SF at the Apple Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC 08), and besides the new iPhone the other big talk was all about Steve's rail thin appearance. He looked too thin almost like he's literally bought into the MacBook Air Thinspiration, or Thinnovation as Apple calls it.
I wasn't at the keynote live but from all the pictures I've seen, Steve is not looking well, like his usual self, and his weight loss is pretty significant and not in a good way. You can see video of the whole Stevenote at the Apple website.
Theories around the net on Steve Jobs' dramatic weight loss:
- He has cancer again
- He's gone over board on his progressively restrictive diet going from vegetarian to vegan to raw
- He's got manorexia
The majority are wondering if the pancreatic cancer has come back. Steve was diagnosed back in 2003 but that info was not released to the public until 2004 when he had surgery. Before getting the surgery, word has it that Steve was trying alternative health modalities which included changing his diet to more vegan/raw foods.
His surgery was successful, and I'm sure he made some signifcant lifestyle changes in order to stay healthy and not get cancer again which most likely included continuing with the vegan/raw eating. His wife Laurene is very much into organics and natural foods, and even had a business called Terravera that produced organic/natural foods.
Who knows what's going on with Steve's health but with all the buzz, I'm sure there will be some kind of official announcement from Apple because there was serious discussion about him not revealing his health issues sooner back in 2003 mainly because he is the CEO of a public traded company and if he died or was incapcitated for any reason, that would affect Apple's business and stock price. I'm writing about this because I find it interesting that we have a story here about a celebrity CEO where his thinness is called into question. You don't normally see tech or business stories about one's weight.
I find it a slippery slope. As a person, Steve has every right to his privacy about his health, but on the other hand, Steve is such a HUGE part of Apple that if he had to abruptly leave it would affect the business signifcantly. If that were to happen, it would be interesting to see what the shareholders would care more about Steve, the human being, or the price of their stock.
I sincerely hope that Steve is cancer free and that he has just over done it a bit with the vegan/raw eating, not that that is good either, but it's not as life threatening or involves surgery like cancer. I think everyone can agree that we're worried, and wish him the best in vibrant health.
On a side note, because of Steve's food preferences, Apple seriously has one of the most amazing cafeterias particularly for vegetarians, vegans, and those who like organics. The food there is way better than many veg restaurants I've eaten at, and if you have a chance to eat at the Apple cafeteria, you MUST go. It's fabulous.
more pics [CNET]
