The Man Who Lost 30 Stone Week In Week Out

At 50 stone Zac Smith was Wales? biggest slimmer.

We filmed him when he went to India for surery.

Once again he?s been forced to take drastic action,

It can go wrong and I could die. There are thousands more in Wales

You need to be aware they are going to be declining funding for it.

That?s the issue, it doesn?t have the resources, isn?t

But should we be tackling obesity earlier?

Looking back at the photos, you can tell I was one of the biggest ones.

Tonight is it time to get real about our obesity epidemic.

We are going to find the NHS falling apart in the next 15 or 20 years if

we do not do something about this. Three years ago Zac Smith was

literally eating observant when early grave. So worried was he

decided to go to India for a private operation. It was the beginning of

an extraordinary personal journey. Today he has transformed himself

from this. To this. It?s nuts ?

my belly was coming out here.I forget I can bend down,

I can do my toenails, whereas before it would have been a nightmare,

trying to cut my toenails, just simple things like that, you

don?t realise you take for granted. This is the third time

we?ve filmed with Zac. We?ll find out just how

much weight he has lost. Where he?s been,

and the risks he took to bring The road that ultimately brought him

here and the origin of Zac?s overeating is typical

of many people with this condition. It began

at a young age with depression. I was bullied because

of the colour my skin, living in a very predominantly white town,

coming from a single parent family. These things just accumulated and I

was a happy go lucky kid and I would try to brush them off, but there

were just some things which you Always the tallest boy

in the class in the early years At 11, I was 12 stone, 12,

I was 13 stone. When Zac stopped growing up he kept

on growing out and in his late I was at my stepdad?s funeral and I

was down to carry the coffin and couldn?t walk down the aisle

in the church. All I kept thinking

is ? you?re next. He tried dieting and exercise,

but he couldn?t lose enough. He thought

his only option was surgery ? to The solution, he thought,

would come from the NHS. Every surgeon I went to see

around the country said I was prime But yet I was still turned down,

I appealed it ? I was turned down. And I appealed the appeal

and I was still turned down. I even phoned up and offered to pay

the majority of the bill and it was, no, it?s not about the money it?s

about meeting the criteria. On a scale of ideal weight, Zac was

almost three times over the limit. But he was told he wasn?t ill

enough for the operation. We should be performing

approximately 300 cases per year in a steady state, but it?s estimated

there are 7,000 patients in Wales who need operations now and I think

that?s a gross underestimate. Currently we?re only doing 67 for

three million of the population. So, three years on

since Zac was turned down for NHS He didn't qualify at the time -

at moment he would not qualify No, he doesn?t qualify, Currently

in Wales we?re only operating on patients with BMI greater than 50,

so at least twice weight they should be and have a number of diseases

associated, and the ones that are specified are diabetes,

blood pressure and sleep apnoea. There is not enough money being put

into this surgery. It doesn?t make you feel very good

as a doctor, when your role really is to help people and

at the moment you find you can?t. Alistair Preston was also told

he couldn?t have NHS surgery. Like Zac, his obesity was rooted

in depression. But he had to pay

for surgery to lose weight. These are a 54, I could probably

virtually get myself in one leg. Alistair?s mother re-mortgaged her

house to pay for the operation. He was happy, in a relationship,

and working. But six years on,

he?s back where he began. Before I had the op the doctor

said to me if you don?t have this My mum said I'll pay for the op,

find the money. My mum can't do it again and I'm

getting to that stage again, just got to accept that,

wait for it to come. Well, not going to live forever, not

going to live much longer like this. In 2011, Zac took what he believed

to be his only option, using family savings to pay

for a private operation in India. The procedure involved fitting

a gastric sleeve on to After six weeks back in Wales,

he was already seeing results. I lost a few more pounds I need to

keep doing that for the next year. We caught up with him again in 2012,

when he was working hard. Lots of exercise and an improved

diet was all paying off. And by last Christmas,

he was down to 27 stone. Merry Christmas. This is Christmas

number three. Looking chic and trim. I'm going to have my Christmas

dinner. Have a good Christmas. When people who are super obese

lose a lot of weight they are The only way to get rid

of it is through plastic surgery. Zac applied again to the the

Welsh NHS. I went from a monthly weigh in. I

lost nine kilos. Which is brilliant. I came home to have a letter from a

referral for plastics. And yet again they have turned me down.

After all his hard work, it was a bitter disappointment.

I cannot believe that the same people who know what I have gone

through on my own, to achieve what I am achieving, can justify saying

that I don't deserve any help again. When he was told he couldn?t have

an operation to remove excess skin, Alistair Preston fell back

into his old depression with My mum and my girlfriend worked

loggerheads. I just jumped into the car ? went

to corner shop and spent it on He?d lost more than 80%

of excess weight. But he was told that under Welsh

rules, that still wasn?t enough. They reckon I was carrying four

stone of skin, I?d have to be seven stone to qualify

and my doctor said I shouldn?t do We know 10% patients put on weight

after bariatric surgery, and it's generally as a consequence of them

falling off dietetic information or And the fact they're turned down

for cosmetic surgery is a form Alistair would qualify for

an operation to remove excess skin under new guidelines issued by the

Association of Plastic Surgeons. But that can?t happen here until

the Welsh Government?s Committee There is potential to consider

the patient you describe to consider But as a routine, plastic surgery

doesn?t have the resources. That?s the point -

you don?t have the resources. It?s about making choices within

the budget allocated to NHS to Back home in Rhoose, Zac is

getting ready for another trip. He?s already lost 27 stone,

but to have his excess skin removed by the NHS in Wales,

the rules say he?d need to lose I don?t know, with my height of six,

five to under 22. So he thinks

his only option is to go back to This time it will be to remove

the excess weight which even the doctors accept he

cannot lose any other way Three They?ll cut from there to there

and that will be gone. I?m going half way

around the world to have surgery The reality is it can go wrong and I

could die. I have had to build up the courage to speak to each family

member, to reassure them that I love them. This is my decision. The whole

purpose of this was a new beginning. It is like winning the Grand

National. There is no point in running the Grand National and being

30 lengths in front and not bothering to jump the last fence.

Back in Wales people who can?t afford private surgery have only

hope and the health service, and the bariatric nurse is often

You need to be aware in all likelihood they are going to

be declining the funding for it and I don?t want to upset you.

How many people like Catherine are there out there that would benefit

that would benefit from the treatment that she?s received?

Of the people that have bariatric surgery and go on to lose weight

successfully like Catherine has, I would say at least 60% especially

the women would like to have body re-contouring afterwards.

Or fulfil the criteria set by the NHS Which are?

A BMI of 25 or below and maintained that weight loss for two years.

support of his friends and there is plenty of friendly banter. If that's

the beauty spots, what happens? But keeping his spirits up is not easy.

When he lost the weight, he was the life and soul of the party. Girls

used to flock around him, but he could not see it. People are always

texting meme to come out. The other day I was going to go over to

Paul's house, but it took me three hours to get out of the house. He is

trying to fight his depression with medication. If I go to the shop, it

will be late shopping. He has panic attacks. He gets me to go with him.

He can't help it. He'll be in the queue and he'll have a panic attack.

This is where I am staying. I am going into surgery on Monday

morning. So far in India, I have lost 3.5 kilos. I think it is down

to the heat. In the UK, his operation would have cost ?12,000.

Here, it is half the price. He is also making another saving. As the

clinic's Star slimmer, he is given a special discount. In the years we

have been in contact with them, he has lost over 100 kilos. At last it

is time for the operation. Surgery takes seven hours to remove three

stone of skin. Three days later, Zac is back on his

feet. They removed so much skin and so much fat, if the camera can

tell, that they lead that was there has gone. It is flat. That is my

leg. There he goes, look. Hello! There is a big demand for surgery

like this in Wales. There are thousands who want it, but are we as

a society but the two fought the bill. What do you say to those

people who look at your patience and say, I don't want to spend my tax

money on giving them an operation, an expensive operation. What I want

for them to do is just go out for a walk and stop eating the wrong food.

I am slightly sympathetic to that argument, but to suggest this is

expensive surgery is a fallacy. These operations paver themselves

into .5 years. A lot of these people have diabetes and hypertension which

go away. -- half years. Even those who control the money agreed it

makes sense. We are certain that this is appropriate and it is good

value for money. So why on earth do we make it so difficult for those

who are more video beast to have bariatric surgery in Wales, more so

than in England? The plan is to go from 80 operations a year to 300.

Last month, guidance in England was up dated, so more people will

qualify for surgery, but that does not apply in Wales. The government

here believes surgery should be a last resort and it has drawn up a

strategy that supplies three levels of support before an operation can

be considered. Level one is based on advice, like this scheme for mothers

and toddlers. On level two, a GP can before a patient to a spare

specialists. This helps this family from Aberdare when their daughter

started putting on weight. I was one of the biggest ones out of my

friends and I did not look very nice. Every year you would do it on

show and you would have a skimpy little outfits. She was getting

uncomfortable because she was one of the bigger girls in dance and other

girls were coming from other schools. Two girls called her flat

in the toilet and she was really upset. We went to the doctor first

of all and spoke to the doctor. I was trying to explain to her, but I

thought she needed it as well, coming from somebody else. Wales has

the highest childhood obesity rates in the UK. The health professionals

on the front line it is a problem they face on a daily basis. I have

been quite terrified with a number of morbidly obese children I have

come across in the last nine to 12 months. We are talking about

children in their teens being diagnosed with type two diabetes.

For the Meredith family B level to advise they received on the NHS was

good, up to a point. She maintained her weight June the time we were

going there. I thought they bought we were doing OK. However, old

habits crept back when Jasmine approached her teens. I could not

stick to it. I wanted to lose it, but I couldn't. I just thought I was

going to get bigger and bigger. Jasmine is not alone. At the city is

already a problem for our children. -- obesity. It is predicted that by

the time this generation reaches their parents age, half will be

obese. Children and adults should be able to get level three advice -

specialist advice from doctors and clinicians. There is anyone level

three service in Wales are available for adults and not been for

children. You concerned? Even more concerned. These level three

services for children need to be established urgently. There are

components of medical management that are available in part of all

the health boards. One has a more fully formed arrangement and the

other health boards are planning what they intend to do. They all are

in the process of planning. A lot seems to be in the process. It

doesn't seem that a lot is being done. I been unreasonable in asking

that? You will have two ask at the health boards. That is what we did.

There are no plans for an increase in services for children. A bit of

bad news. I can't go home tomorrow as planned. I'm still in too much

pain. Dr Shoreshank said I can't go home until they get it right. In

India Zac suffered an infection after his operation. A week later he

decided to risk the long journey home. It was a gamble that nearly

didn't pay off. His condition termed critical and he was taken to

Wales's biggest hospital and put into intensive care. His life was at

risk. Two weeks later, Zac emerged after a close call. I went abroad

and had it done. They weren't aware of how the surgery was done. I

wasn't really. You know, I assumed that they opened me up like a

curtain, but honestly they must have opened up one side and then what

they have done is close that an open the other side. They assumed there

would be one cavity and there were three or four. Home sweet home.

Caring for Zac in a high dependency beds has cost the NHS more than the

operation they refused to give him. Picking up the pieces from private

operations overseas is becoming more common. We have an increase in

sorting out surgeries that have been carried out elsewhere. So people

have been turned down for NHS treatment and it has gone wrong.

Exactly and there is a huge cost implication. It is not just the

cost. Zach's obesity means he has not worked for over 20 years. --

Zac's obesity. Alistair is also on benefits. If you gave me the

operation, if you had helped me the first time, if you gave me the skin

grafts, I would be helping to contribute to society. Several times

in the course of this interview you have mentioned, yes, I know the NHS

is strapped for cash. It seems as if you feel ill people approaching

them. Of course I do. There is cancer, all these other illnesses,

but in general society you have to realise that obesity is an illness

in itself. There's this negative attitude of people just sitting down

and gorging themselves into oblivion. That is the end result,

but there are facts that lead people to that. If you had a message to the

Welsh government, what would it be? You have to stop with the children.

If you are waiting to recognise that there are is a problem with morbid

obesity when they are adults, it is too late. In Aberdare, Jasmine is

that on the right track. Her family have found support and advice, but

not from the NHS. It's from a slimming club instead. She joined

Slimming World. They don't encourage her to lose weight, it is just

healthy eating. The Jasmine, the warnings have come at the right

time. It's the right thing to lose weight. If I just kept eating and

eating, I don't know how big I would be now. But Alistair, getting help

is sometimes just a matter of speaking to someone who knows what

it's like. Hello. How's it going? Zac. Seeing that... Wow, you look

shop there. That was a T-shirt that used to hang on me. It will probably

fit the perfectly now. You can do it again. Even if the system does not

help you, you have it in you because you have done it before. If you keep

knocking at the door, at some point someone will answer. It's great to

get so much of my chest with someone who understands. Why should we as a

society care? We should care. If we don't care about this, we are going

to find our NHS falling apart within the next 15, 20 years. Because?

Because the costs associated with treating obesity will spiral. The

Health Secretary declined to be interviewed, but the course of

action is being developed and it will deal with any gaps. Zac's

journey back to a normal life is almost over. He is 30 stone lighter

and he did it on his own. He will have more challenges of his -- he

will have more challenges ahead, but today it's about fulfilling one of

his goals. This has been a goal since day one, to get back into a

Welsh top. To Bradley where my colours. -- to proudly wear my

colours. I spent most of my adult life just living a lie. Walking

around with this bubbly smile, but I was dead inside. Now I'm not walking

around with a bubbly smile, but I am bursting inside the close I wonder

what light is going to bring today? -- because I wander up what life is

going to bring today. Yes, it is good.