Paul Mason, once the world's fattest man, suing NHS for not helping him sufficiently

[Twitchin Kitten]

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Sorry, but IMO, no one forced him to eat 20,000 calories a day. It's no one's fault but his own why he got so fat.

Paul Mason, once the world's fattest man, suing NHS for not helping him sufficiently with obesity <--clicky

By Nina Mandell
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Friday, January 7th 2011, 12:01 PM



The world's fattest man wants to fight obesity: with a lawsuit.

Paul Mason, who once weighed almost 1,000 pounds, is blaming the NHS (Britain's public health system) for sending him to dietitians who merely told him to lose weight -- but didn't identify his problem as an eating disorder, British newspaper the Sun reported.

The former postal worker told the Sun that when he went to the NHS for help with his eating as early as 1996, he was told to "ride your bike more."

Years later, after tipping the scales at 900 pounds -- while scarfing down 20,000 calories a day -- he was sent to a dietitian before finally getting life-saving gastric surgery.

News of the lawsuit came shortly after the debut of his television show, "Britain's Fattest Man," which chronicled his journey toward gastric bypass surgery to more than 2.49 million viewers.

According to the show, Mason, 50, cost British taxpayers more than $3,000 a week before getting the surgery. That weekly estimate doesn't include the cost of firefighters knocking down the front of his home so they could get a forklift inside to get him out for hernia surgery in 2002 or the gastric surgery that cost around $50,000 in 2009.

Now a mere 518 pounds, Mason said he wants to take his case to court.

"I want to set a precedent so no one else has to get to the same size - and to put something back into society," he told the newspaper.

The NHS refused to comment, saying it had not been officially notified of the suit.

Mason also revealed in the interview that he had tried to kill himself three times due to the awful depression he suffered because of his weight. One attempt, an overdose of painkillers, failed because of his huge weight, the Sun reported.

While his weight may have cost him a lot of opportunities, Mason has certainly parlayed it into fame. In addition to "Britain's Fattest Man," he also appeared on a TLC special in the U.S. last May called "The World's Fattest Man."

nmandell@nydailynews.com

[Twilla]

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They didn't identify he had an eating disorder? hahaha! Does it really need to be said out loud? It would be like me going to the doctor and hearing that I'm a woman. No shit.

I saw this guy on a show about morbidly obese people about a year ago and he completely and utterly disgusted me. He was literally crying about being fat while he shoved a whole grilled cheese sandwich into his mouth. Take responsibility for your situation, you sack of shit.

[Twitchin Kitten]

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EXACTLY. It's like an alcoholic saying it's a disease. No one stuck a bottle in your mouth and forced you to drink until you became physically addicted. Same for cigarettes and drugs.

[Twilla]

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Have you ever watched any of these shows about obese people? It shows the food they eat and for the most part, it's all processed, high sodium crap and lots of dessert. I've NEVER seen them eating fruit and the few veggies on the plate were over cooked and brown. God knows I eat crap occasionally but these people shovel whole cakes into their gullet in one sitting and then act like it's some mystery that they can't get to the bathroom on their own.

[LKTraz]

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This twit needs to shut his mouth. Firstly about the lawsuit and secondly if it's not open he can't shove massive amounts of food in it!

Stupid ass. Nobody force fed this idiot so the fault of his weight lies squarely in his own hands....LITERALLY!!!!!!!

This is the same shit attitude some people have that causes them to want to sue McDonald's because they are fat. No asshole......Ronald McDonald did not come and force feed you overpriced fat laden fast food. You went there yourself, ordered and paid for it and shoved it in your own piehole of your own free will. I have never seen anyone mucking down grease burgers at gunpoint!!!!

How about a little PERSONAL responsibility here folks?

I smoke and drink beer. Why? Because I consciously choose to. By these dumbfuck standards I should be suing the tobacco industry and D G Yuengling and Sons. I think not. Nobody forces me to do these things so any consequences are of my own doing.

[Jamminitin]

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This really pisses me off too. Along with the schools trying feeding our children 3 meals a day, cutting toys out of kids meals etc. How about some personal responsibility people. It's completely sickening.

[LKTraz]

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*Afterthought*

I suppose that NHS should have broken his jaw and both hands then feed him intravenously with the proper nutrients to reduce his weight?

This really pisses me off too. Along with the schools trying feeding our children 3 meals a day, cutting toys out of kids meals etc. How about some personal responsibility people. It's completely sickening.

Yeah......what we REALLY need is government officials dictating what our kids eat, when and where they eat it and what we will pay for it. [/sarc]

[Twitchin Kitten]

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He's whining that the NHS didn't tell him he had an eating disorder and going along that vein to help him lose weight. Sorry, that don't fly with me. He already knew he had a problem because he went to the doctor for help. The docs can only to so much. No dietitian can force you to follow what they do. In this guy's case, it was simple. Put down the whole chicken and eat a wing instead. NO cake, candy, ho ho's, ice cream etc. No Fred Flintstone size hunks of meat. You don't need anyone to tell you this.

[twisteroo]

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I'm pissed, the only reason I looked at this thread is because I saw Paul Mason, and thought it was about wine.

While I think everyone knows that struggling with weight can be a huge problem, if you do weight 30,000 pounds why do you have to blame someone else?

[LH]

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Those are the kind of people that need a pill that makes all food taste like shit. Then start drinking tons of water and vitamins. Lack of will power is what it is.