<human>: My friend gained a lot of weight in high school after she ripped all of the tendons in her serving shoulder and lost the ability to play tennis competitively. Tennis was everything to her. She was lined up for varsity and was probably going to pursue it as a career, but never got that chance.

By now I think she has made peace with that lost opportunity, but she never lost the weight and has in fact gained a lot more since then. I believe she's currently about 280 at 5'7".

It's been a constant struggle for her and she's very sensitive about it. Her mother would constantly degrade her over it, so she's developed a bit of a complex where she almost tries to gain weight in spite of anyone who brings it up.

However, she DOES want to lose weight and acknowledges it as a problem. She's tried dieting and exercising to some extent, but it never seems to stick. I would love to try and do something with her to encourage her to stick with it, but she's away for school and there's not a whole lot I can do from here. We've tried a long-distance buddy system, but that never quite seems to stick either. Whenever I ask her if she's on track, she'll make excuses etc.

She also compares herself to me, which I wish I could discourage. I used to be rather chunky too and have since lost all the weight (which is another thing that her mother likes to bring up, making it that much worse). She's always talking about how envious she is of me. That's not the kind of relationship I want to have with her.

I don't know what to do anymore. Her BP/cholesterol/blood sugar/etc. levels are all in range, but her stress has pretty significantly affected her hormone levels and it's causing all kinds of crazy things to happen to her body. Doctors have run all kinds of tests and can't find anything wrong with her and I can't help but to think it's a combination of her stress and her weight.

Can you provide a brief overview of the text?
<bot>: Best friend is overweight, wants to lose weight, mom is making things worse, and it's affecting her health. How can I help her from 150 miles away?