12/11/2012 Inside Out South West

Welcome to the programme. Surprising stories from familiar

places. Tonight, with diabetes at and the -- epidemic proportions, a

life-changing challenge. Can he get fitter in 28 days? Or

will it prove too much of an uphill struggle? Also, the Somerset would

land. The whole place is quivering, so it is floating on a cushion of

water, that is exactly what this place should be like. So watch this

Diabetes is a modern epidemic and the most common form of the disease

in adults is strongly linked to being overweight. In many cases the

condition can be controlled by changing your lifestyle. But how

easy is it to do that? BBC Radio Devon's David Fitzgerald, who has

At the end of last year, Inside Out set me the challenge of giving up

drinking for a month. For a man known to like a libation or two, it

was a serious challenge. So I was tested, prodded, poked and measured,

and the results were not promising. Looking at your body mass index,

that's coming out at 33.3 - in fact it's in the obese range, I hate to

tell you. Your risk of developing high blood pressure, 4.1 times,

cancer of the mouth 5.4 times the risk, stroke being three times the

risk. At the moment your body is as of a 64-year-old. It's a bit of an

eye opener when you're described as a 64-year-old who's looking forward

to being overweight and not obese, which I am now, according to that

figure. But to my and a few others' surprise, I stuck to it. What would

you like? A Coke - Diet Coke, please. Marvellous(!). You have

lost 2.1 kilograms in weight, which is five pounds, which is good.

at the end of the experience, I made this pledge. After that, a

little more exercise, a little less booze. Nearly a year on, and at

least I've cut back on the drinking, anyway. Can have the full English

without the black pudding, asI would rather gnaw my own leg off?

But I'm still overweight and diabetic and I am not alone. Nearly

a quarter of adults in Britain are now classed as clinically obese and

diabetes has reached epidemic proportions. Treatment for the

condition now accounts for nearly 10 per cent at the NHS's drugs bill.

And I am one of those on the tablets. Now Inside Out are

challenging me to get fitter, to do at least the Government's

recommended 2.5 hours moderate exercise a week, for the next month.

Well, is this wise? Diabetes is as serious condition with long-term

publications but we can make a difference in terms of losing

weight, changing diet, and crucially, doing more exercise. But

it is an incredibly difficult thing to do and I see hundreds of

patients every year for whom it's a very difficult challenge. But it is

a challenge and a challenge worth taking. If you can do that, lose

weight, take the exercise, then it's worth it. If you don't push

yourself, you're never going to learn on these things, I don't know

what you're going to put me through, Well, there's no going back now.

This is it - my first visit to the gym in more than 20 years. And

despite my earlier bravado, I have to admit to being scared. Scared of

being amongst the young and beautiful people, scared of how

people will look at me. But first, more tests, this time with my

trainer, Simon. Oh dear. The results aren't looking good. I have

a BMI of 32.1 and I'm in the high- risk category. When we're talking

high risk, we are looking at where you are carrying your weight in

terms of the risk towards cardiovascular diseases. I must

admit I'm not looking forward to it, because there is that boredom

factor of a gym, and also, I'm coming in to an area of beautiful

people, and I don't fit into that category. Yeah, we have a lot of

beautiful people here, but we have a lot of normal people. So I think

you will be surprised of the clientele you'll see here. Exercise

can be boring, but we do our best to try and stimulate. Stimulate?

Balls - sitting on them. More difficult than you might think.

Something to do with core strength, apparently. I think he's doing as

well as somebody who hasn't exercised specifically for a long

time. He's not as efficient as a 50 year-old man should be. So there's

work to be done, there really is. And I would expect within four

weeks time, significant improvements, providing that he

buys into the task, the challenge and is consistent. Which is

certainly achievable for Fitz. can do this. You've got to get over

the intimidation factor, the fact that I know I'm unfit and the fact

that I am 51 years old, coming up, and this is probably the wrong age

to start, or is it? To be truthful, in this first week I haven't been

to the gym as often as I should have. So I've decided to make up

for it by spoiling a good walk by spending the entire afternoon

hunting for a tiny white ball. It's This is what I call my upper-body

workout. It gets better. Spot on! And then a lot worse. This is

ridiculous. This is called Heart Attack Hill. I think every golf

club has got a Heart Attack Hill. Probably named after some poor

member who didn't quite make the After golf I realised I had to

start taking this seriously, so it's back to the treadmill and the

weirdest thing - I've missed it. This must be, including weekends,

day eight now. And I'm finding it OK. In fact, I'm starting to enjoy

myself. It might not look like it, but I really am getting into the

rower. That's knackering. Memories of rowing 30 years ago, coming back.

In one great nauseating wave. I was pretty fit once, 30 years ago I was

a rower, and a cox for Exeter Rowing Club. They say that getting

fit is about motivation, that joining a club and exercising with

other people is a great way to get and keep that motivation. So I've

stepped back in time. Hello. all right? I am Megan. What a

flashback for me. Some great boats. You're the lady who's going to be

teaching me to row? I'm going to try to! Last time I was a rowing

boat was 1979. I wasn't even born then. Encouraging! Everything is

now carbon fibre. Lightweight boats. Heavyweight rowers. What are we

going to be going in? We are going to be going out in the quad. Lead

Accelerate the drive. I was expecting a gentle scull, what I

got was a near-Olympian workout. It is very tiring. 33 years out of a

boat and probably God knows how many stone heavier, it is a real

Nice and relaxed. Keep that outward pressure with your thumbs. Megan

seemed so nice at the start! want to ease up? Yes. This is not

easy. Especially in my shape, my At last, the finishing line. Will I

get a medal? I don't think so! So how did I do? Pretty well

considering it was such a long time. They are not balanced at the best

of times, so you did really good, well done. It was a tough

experience and maybe my macho ego, if there is one, suddenly it began

to falter at the top of the river, I thought I might either throw up,

pass out or end up swimming with the swans. After that experience,

the gym seemed like an easy option. Hello, it's you again. Come on in.

Which I have been going to pretty much every day for the last week.

As the wife will confirm. The enemy is here. Ladies and gentleman, the

good lady wife. Come and sit down. That was painful! That's because

I've been exercising. How has it been? Well, I have to say that he's

been really good at keeping to a schedule, and he's been going to

the gum, but yeah, again, he's taken on this commitment and he's

doing really well, I would say. feeling a lot better. I'm feeling a

lot fitter. Little bit firmer? But you have reservations. I don't

like skinny men! I don't think you're going to be disappointed.

Despite Karen's concerns, I really wouldn't mind losing a lot more

weight. So I'm off to see an old friend, Keith Makepeace, who runs a

hotel. He's has been a real inspiration to me. Keith! Hello

Fitz, how are you? OK at the moment. Still looking slim and trim! Got to

keep at it. Hopefully I'm going to be at it with you. You are happy to

Yeah, so apparently we are heading down there. OK? What have you got

in mind today? Charlie needs some exercise, so a quick run to the

beach and back. Five minutes down, Keith is also a diabetic, but

unlike me, his diagnosis prompted Now, how are you at the moment?

sugar level is a healthy sugar level, I haven't since very soon

after I was diagnosed because I did something about it pretty quickly.

I'm five stone lighter than my heaviest, I'm 15 stone now. This is

purely from running? No, it's from exercise and healthy eating and a

combination of the two. It's not from dieting per se. You are

looking at me now, I'm 16 stone, whatever it is, what advice would

you have for me? I think just getting up, and going for it is the

first thing. A lot of us talk about it, but just get up, and - my God I

have so much more energy than I ever had before. That transfers

through to work. As you lose weight, you feel fitter, healthier -

there's no negatives, really. And if close people say to you, "I can

do it", then it helps. What about the future? Challenges. The next

challenge is up that hill. Five minutes. Lead on. My foot's gone to

Well, it started OK, but frankly, it really is an uphill struggle.

How did that go, Fitz? No word of a lie, that is a killer. It's a bit

of a hill, isn't it. I couldn't run, I had to walk it. Shows how unfit I

am. I don't know, not many people can. People that come from London

and are used to running around Hyde Park struggle with that. But that

was one of my first challenges I set my trainer to help me with, I

said I wanted to run to the beach and back like I could when I was 16.

Well, I don't think I would ever be able to run that. This challenge

really is proving to be harder than I thought. But despite the hill,

I'm feeling fitter and I am really enjoying the gym, when I go.

For the last four days, I haven't been able to get to gym, other

things have come up, and I have been directed elsewhere. So I've

felt that I'd let the system down, that I was cheating myself. So it's

a Sunday today, and after a car show, I popped into the gym for an

hour. I feel absolutely brilliant. And I know my body is changing

shape. The other thing is, when I don't go to the gym, I can't sleep

properly. Interesting. So you've changed me so far, Inside Out, I am

roughly getting a fitter person. We Well thanks to the magic of TV,

time has gone by and it's the last day I've committed to coming here.

The truth is, my attitude has changed a lot. Coming into a gym

like this was highly intimidating. I have been unfit for most of my

life, and I don't want to mix with the young and the beautiful people.

I was totally wrong. People that are wandering around the machines -

they're all shapes, all sizes, all abilities, they don't care, they

want to get on and do it. I have got on and done it, and I think I

now blend into the background, even with a camera pointed at me. To be

honest with you, still nobody's looking. I am not exactly addicted,

but every day I miss a bit of training, I now feel guilty. That's

odd, very odd. OK, 28 days later, and I feel an awful lot better. The

trousers, much, much looser. Let's find out via science what I've done

I can't pretend I'm not nervous. I really hope that all that hard work

I've put in is reflected in the results. OK. Let's see the good or

the bad news. Right. Looking at this, there's a lot of very good

news. It's actually really gone well. My weight, BMI, blood glucose

and diabetes indicators are all down and my liver function and

muscle mass are up. Put on four kilograms of muscle. Just trying to

get this into my head. I've put on eight pounds in muscle? One

question, the damage already done, and I do admit that I've done

damage, can it ever be repaired, can it ever be undone? Well, it can,

and that's why it's really important that you've done what

you've done. The cardiovascular risk will have fallen already just

by losing this amount of weight and changing the proportions of the

weight. That puts you in a much healthier position for the future.

Well, it's been a tough and at times emotional journey for me

since the beginning of last December when I gave up alcohol for

a month. I've now completed a month of exercise and according to those

figures, I've lost half a stone in weight, I have put on eight pounds

in muscle and I feel a lot better and I'm not going to give up. I'm

going to continue. And I'm hoping I've inspired some of you to do the

We think of the south-west as full of beautiful, natural places which

it seems are best left untouched. But Nick Baker has been to a great

nature reserve in Somerset which has pretty much been created by

West Hay Moor on the Somerset Levels. 300 acres of wetland

paradise. Whether you're a birder like me or a bug fanatic, this

place has got to be amongst the best in the west. It looks like a

natural paradise, but in fact, it's anything but. The secret to this

place is this black stuff underfoot, peat. It's been harvested here for

generations, firstly as fuel, but in more recent times, and more

controversially, it's used for horticultural purposes. If there's

a plus to this industry, it's that it's left these whopping great big

holes. Over the years, the holes left by peat digging have filled up

with rainwater. That's helped create outstanding habitat for a

whole range of birds, flowers and This pink flower on the lake is a

national rarity, amphibious bistort. It's plentiful here. Over the lakes,

dragonflies dart about hunting, or like this juvenile black-tailed

skipper, perch on the lush vegetation. This beautiful species

was first recorded in the UK in Essex in the '30s. It's been

expanding its range, helped by gravel pits in the east of England

or here by the peat holes man has The walkways, or droves, are dotted

with hides and screens so you can get really close to some

outstanding action. This adult Great Crested Grebe is feeding fish

to a youngster, probably just two months out of the nest. Possibly

too young to catch enough fish for itself. This guy seems to be

We've had one of the wettest springs and summers on record,

which means birds like these grebes associated with wetland and

waterways have had a hard time of it. Their nests have been flooded

out. But here, it's great to see that they're at least expressing

some degree of nesting success. These grebes are nesting in late

July. One parent is still bringing in nesting material to what looks

like a pretty substantial nest already. At one point, there is a

young chick on board the adult on the water while the other gets up

from the nest and carefully turns over an egg with its bill. This

basically ensures the chick inside develops correctly. With all this

activity, it's good that when the grebe parent returns with even more

nest material, there seems to be a It's all so neatly laid out here,

with two long droves cutting the reserve into three sections and I'm

on my way to its jewel in the crown. Believe it or not, these 30 acres

are the largest expanse of lowland acid mire in the South of England

and the Somerset Wildlife Trust, who run things here, are determined

to make it larger. A key plant or building block for any mire or bog

is this stuff, sphagnum moss. This is a very beautiful bright green

species, but they come in varieties of reds and greens and they are all

bright and gorgeous. If I give it a good squeeze, look at that. That's

the secret. This thing is a living sponge, holding many, many times

its own weight in water. That is key to the production of more peat,

but also it keeps the place nice and soggy and wet, and that is the

definition of the mire. I think the sphagnum here is beautiful in

itself, but it's more than that, a kind of wet blanket that allows

amphibians like this toad to move from ditch to ditch and it's a

great habitat for a rare killer flower. You might expect

carniverous plants to be of Triffid proportions, but everything pink in

this little seed is actually one of the most exciting. This here is

sundew and every single one of these pink blobs is one of those

glandular hair-bearing leaves. If you're an insect, you don't want to

land on one of these because if you do, you'll die. It's not the fact

that you'll die that's so horrific, it's the fact that you will die

This damselfly is dicing with death just a few millimetres above the

leaves of the sundews. Just to one side, another hasn't been so lucky.

It's anchored at three points and though still struggling, the sticky

gum on the hairs won't let it go. As the leaves roll up, digestion

starts. Further over, the remains of two other flies caught and

slowly digested by the sundews. The flowers can't get much nutrient out

of the bog itself so they've adapted to take it from any stray

passing insect. Sadly, all over the country, bogs have been drained.

Here, the Trust is putting something back. The sphagnum itself

was in part rolled up from nearby ditches and laid like so much

There's a wind-powered pump to keep up water levels in ditches around

the mire. That acts as a kind of natural barrier to keep falling

rainwater trapped in and stopping These are the final weapon in the

Trust's armoury. Exmoor ponies Why Exmoors? Why are they good for

this job? Exmoors through evolution are designed perfectly for these

conditions. Nutrient-poor sites, very wet underfoot. What exactly

are they doing, what's their job? This site is dominated by purple

moor grass, molinia, a great component of the habitat here, but

it's dominating. These animals will bite it down, they will reduce the

amount of litter layer that the molinia lays down on the ground,

create some barren patches where some more of the specialised bog

species can break through. difficult is it to restore this

mire? It's extremely hard to bring this back to a fully functioning

mire. So much has been extracted. We want this nice and wet and

squelchy underfoot, we want rare Next to the mire, a habitat that is

almost as rare - wet woodland. It's pretty much a swamp. And it's just

the job for dragonflies like the southern hawker. This needs acidic

waters if it is to breed and thrive Most visitors here probably won't

venture into the wet woods and it's good that parts of the reserve are

difficult to access, but in places, they've opened things up in a way

that allows some really privileged What I really like about this

reserve is all along the droves are hides and blinds such as this one.

If you put the time in and you're patient enough, you might just be

We can hear a young reed warbler calling out. And it's fledged.

After a while we can make it out through the dense vegetation. It's

just about picked up the important skill of gleening small insects

from the reeds. But there doesn't seem to be enough to go around. Its

calls are answered. A parent bird arrives with its mouth stuffed full

There are plenty of wetland specialists around, like the reed

bunting, and a nice plump bird, the sedge warbler. This is most active

This is the so-called tower heights, only a few metres off the ground,

but this elevation means we can overlook the reed beds and it gives

us the best chance of seeing two And this is one of them, the

bittern, a national rarity, a red- listed species, one of the most

threatened in the UK. They reckon there may be 20 pairs breeding on

the Levels. That is a great achievement. Go back two decades

and they were all but wiped out. They're a type of heron and feed on

fish like rudd that are thriving in the clean, unpolluted waters here.

And this beautiful sight, the marsh harrier. Not under as great a

threat as the bittern, but it's seen numbers rise and fall over

decades. There are a couple of breeding pairs here. It has its

head permanently facing down on the lookout for small birds and mammals

It's a remarkable place. Managing the habitat here to keep it just

right for such a huge range of species is a mammoth task, but

there is evidence all around that they are doing just that and indeed,

there is proof right under your I love this place because it's

quite a dynamic environment. It's being put back together in front of

our very eyes and if you want a demonstration of just what a good

job the Wildlife Trust are doing, this used to be a scrubby bit of

woodland. The Wildlife Trust have reversed it back to pretty much the

mire it's supposed to be, and watch this for a demonstration. As I jump

up and down like a nutter, the whole place is quivering, which

means it's floating on a cushion of water and that's exactly what this

place should be like. So watch this So much of West Hay is really the

product of a very complex interaction between man and nature.

We damaged the environment in the first place by digging up the peat