Toshrinkthetumourbeforea nine-
hoursurgerythatJune,Glennhadto
undergotwenty-threecoursesofra-
diationandfiveofchemotherapy.So,
hebegantorun.Inthebeginning,he
ranforonlyafewminutes,enough
forhimtobeabletodoa littlemore
eachday.Hisgoal?Toloseenough
weighttoweanhimselfofftheCPAP
machine.
“ThedoctoldmeI couldn’tuseit
aftersurgeryandhewouldkeepme
intubatedif hehadto,”Glennrecalls.
“Thatwouldhavebeena nightmare.”
Bythetimeoftheoperationhe’d
lost 27 kilogams.Sincethen,hehas
switchedtoporridgeinthemorning,
andcontinuedtorun,reducinghis
weightbyapproximatelyone-thirdto
hiscurrentweightof 107 kilograms.
Beingoverweighthasbeenlinkedto
anincreasedriskofcancer.Susannah
Brown,thescienceprogrammeman-
ageratWorldCancerResearchFund
International,explainsthatexcessfat
tissuechangesyourhormoneprofile,
whichinturnchangesthephysiology
ofyourbody.Overtime,thisleadsto
theproductionofgrowthfactorsthat
promptcellstodivideandthispro-
videscancercellswiththeperfectop-
portunitytocreatea tumour.
ForGlennMcMullin,runningand
radicallychanginghiseatinghabits
hasmeanta newleaseonlife.Now
clearofcancer,hesays:“IfI canshow
justoneotherpersonthatit’spossible
tochangeforthe better, that makes
me happy.”
OSTEOARTHRITIS–thebreaking
downofthecartilagethatcushions
thejoints–progressesfasterwhen
you’reobesebecauseit isresponding
togaitchangesandpressure.DrSarah
Kingsbury,theOsteoarthritisStrate-
gicProjectleadattheLeedsInstitute
ofRheumaticandMusculoskeletal
Medicine,saysthecruelCatch-22is
thattheonlywaytoslowtheprogres-
sionistokeepmoving,whichishard
todowhilecarryingexcessweight.
“Atthemoment,thereisnowayto
regeneratelostcartilage,”shesays.
“That’swhybariatricsurgery[for
severecasesofobesity]maybethe
bestoptioninsomecases.”
Thethreemainbariatricsurgery
proceduresthatarewidelyusedare
gastricbypass,gastricbandingand
sleevegastrectomy.
ForMarianneLundKristofferson,
60,it wasa two-weektriptoSpainin
2006 thathelpedmakeuphermind.
Theformergrocerystoreworkerand
motherofthree,whoweighedabout
120 kilograms,wasinpaintheentire
timewithtender, swollenjoints.
Whenshegothomeshecontacteda
privateclinicandhadtheoperation
donethatautumn.“Thatfirstweek,I
losttenkilogramsandoverthenext
yearI lost 47 kilogramsaltogether,”
shesays.
AlthoughMariannestillhassome
painwhenshemoves,shemakes
suretodosomethingeachday,espe-
ciallywalkingandevensomelight
hiking. The weight loss has freedher75
The Time Bomb Of Obesity