Why 50-stone Barry seized a chance of life

Britain's fattest man decides to lose weight to show
others the many dangers of obesity

By Anushka Asthana
The Observer
Sunday, September 18, 2005

Barry Austin, who is believed to be the fattest man in
Britain, has decided to turn his life around; he has cut
his daily intake from 29,000 calories to 1,500 in an
effort to lose some of his 50-stone bulk.

It will be a challenge but, he says, 'I put the weight
on, I can lose it.'

What has caused such a dramatic shift of attitude in a
man who would once eat nine curries and down up to 40
pints of lager in one sitting? A television programme.
Tempted by the offer of a full medical check-up, Austin
volunteered to appear in a programme that would examine
the science of obesity. Inside Britain's Fattest Man, to
be screened next Monday on Sky One, examines the effects
on the body of being morbidly obese and compares Barry's
organs to average people.

Austin said that, although his GP practice was
'fantastic', it was not used to seeing people his size
and so he seized the chance of having such thorough
health tests. Body scans, blood tests, body-mass index
assessments, brain scans, cardiovascular assessments,
kidney, liver and heart tests were used to create
animated copies of his organs. 'I wanted to do it to show
other people the dangers of obesity,' he said. The
results were shocking and can, to a lesser extent, be
applied to the one in five people who suffer from
obesity: 'They said I would have five years to live if I
didn't change. That motivated me to alter my ways.'

The tests showed:

o  Heart: Austin's heart does not rest even when
relaxing. It pumps harder than an average man's heart
when walking up a hill and the smallest exertion can
cause a massive increase in heart rate.

o  Blood: His blood was full of glucose molecules from
fizzy drinks and junk food. He had a third more fat in
his bloodstream than an average man's.

o  Liver: An average-sized person's liver weighs about
3lb; Austin's weighs 8lb and is black and covered in fat.

o  Diabetes: Austin was diagnosed as having Type II
diabetes, linked to his weight.

o  Sleeping: Someone who is obese has difficulty
breathing when sleeping because of the pressure put on
his lungs when lying down. A normal sized man could take
in six litres of air in a deep breath, Austin manages
three.

A specialist nurse, Wendy Waller, who saw Austin through
the tests, said that, although he was an extreme case,
one in five adults was obese and would suffer some or all
of the complications. 'There are also the mental
problems,' said Waller, who helps prepare patients for
obesity surgery. 'Three out of five of the patients I see
have suffered some form of neglect, abuse or trauma in
their lives. Barry was depressed about his size and what
it meant he couldn't do.'

Austin admitted that 'life would be much easier' if he
was thin. 'I can't go swimming, I have to think what
supermarket I have to go to because of turnstiles, and it
is difficult to fly because I need to pay for three
seats.' He said he was not embarrassed about his weight
because he had brought it on himself, but said he
suffered from discrimination in the workplace. 'They
think I am perfect on the phone, then when I go in they
try everything to get out of [giving me employment].'

His weight problem arose because of years entering eating
and drinking competitions to win prizes for him and his
friends. Until recently he would eat a fry-up for
breakfast with 1lb of bacon and sausage, six to eight
eggs and fried bread, have fish and chips for lunch and
curry for dinner, while snacking on up to 20 packets of
crisps a day. Since the programme he has cut down to a
bacon sandwich - two pieces of bread, two pieces of bacon
and one egg - a chicken salad sandwich for lunch, a lean
dinner and litres of water.

He said he hopes to appear on television again when he
has lost the weight to show people what can be done. He
said he chose to take part in the programme to highlight
that it was a disease and that people should seek help.

'When I went to a psychologist once they asked me to draw
myself and I drew a thin person. That is what I used to
see. The psychologist said that people with bulimia would
draw a fat person. It is the same thing, but it is harder
to find support when you are obese.'

Dr Andrew Hill, a psychologist at Leeds University
medical school and former chair of the Association for
the Study of Obesity, said there was a belief that
overeating was within people's self-control and so
obesity was a failure. 'The degree to which we have
control over our weight is overestimated,' he said. 'You
only need to eat 2 or 3 per cent more than another person
over a period of time and you will gain weight. We live
in a society where we are surrounded by the marketing of
delicious high-caloried food and that encourages
obesity.'

Hill said there were questions to be asked about Sky
putting on such a show. He said: 'There does seem to be a
move by broadcasters to focus on people who are
distressed in rather a bleak way. I wonder if the people
highlighted realise the consequence of their actions.'

But Mark Carter, Sky producer and director, said: 'Barry
is happy with the programme. It is entertaining but
hammers home the message of what indulgences do.'

Talk about it
Why is Britain so overweight?

Are you obese?
Calculate your ideal weight

Useful links
NHS Direct: obesity
Department of Health
Association for the study of obesity

More at:
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1572754,00.html

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