Homer soon discovers that any employee that weighs 300 pounds (136 kg) or more qualifies as disabled, and so he decides to gain the 61 pounds he needs to reach 300. After learning that someone who is disabled can work from home, and thus be excluded from the exercise program, Homer tries to find a way to achieve this goal. Burns organizes a morning calisthenics program at the nuclear power plant, much to everyone's delight but to the dismay of Homer (the only worker who hates doing five minutes of light aerobic exercise). It acquired a Nielsen rating of 10.0, and was the third highest rated show on the Fox network that week. Since airing, the episode has received positive reviews from fans and television critics, and Empire named it the best episode of the show. It features cultural references to world's heaviest twins, the 1993 film What's Eating Gilbert Grape, and the soft drink Tab.
Joan Kenley makes her first out of three guest appearances on The Simpsons in the episode as the voice of the telephone lady. The episode was written by Dan Greaney and directed by Jim Reardon. Homer soon begins to experience the negative aspects of being obese, and his life starts falling apart. In the episode, Homer despises the nuclear plant's new exercise program, and decides to gain 61 pounds (28 kg) in order to claim a disability and work at home. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 5, 1995. " King-Size Homer" is the seventh episode of The Simpsons' seventh season. " Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in 'The Curse of the Flying Hellfish'"." Scenes from the Class Struggle in Springfield".