BUSTER'S DRAMATIC WEIGHT LOSS | | At 31 stone, Buster really was busting at the seams |
Buster Bloodvessel, the larger than life front man of '80s band Bad Manners, is famous for his bald head, big personality and his even bigger figure. Now, quite literally, Buster is half the man he used to be. After drastic surgery, Buster lost a staggering 18 stone (114kg) and pays tribute to the surgeon who undoubtedly saved his life. As a former owner of a hotel called Fatty Towers, it's no secret that Douglas Trendle, better known as Buster Bloodvessel, liked his food. Whilst Bad Manners hits, including My Girl Lollipop, Lip Up Fatty and Can Can, topped the charts, Buster's weight topped the scales. At his heaviest, Buster weighed 31 stone (197kg). "I was living up to an image. People expected Buster to be huge," he explains.  | | Buster shed an incredible 18 stone in 10 months |
"I liked the idea of being fat, eating, drinking, being jolly - to me those are fine qualities." But these fine qualities took a serious toll on Buster's health. Bad Manners have continued to perform 25 years after their first hit. But at 31 stone, delivering a high energy set night after night was putting Buster under incredible strain. "In every performance I was thinking this could be my last, the way I was performing on stage." Danger zoneClassed as morbidly obese, Buster's life was in danger. Surgeons across the country refused to operate on Buster for fear he would be unable to survive surgery.  | | "A lot of people regard obesity as weakness in willpower - it's not." | | Professor Michael McMahon |
With a pioneering technique, Professor Michael McMahon was the only surgeon to agree to undertake the operation at the Leeds Nuffield Hospital. "A lot of people regard obesity as weakness in willpower - it's not," says Professor McMahon. "It's a disease and it is almost impossible for people with morbid obesity to do anything about it themselves." In the pioneering treatment, a tube of 11mm in diameter is inserted into the stomach. The stomach is stapled alongside the tube, cutting off the blood supply from the remaining stomach area. Without the blood supply, that area of stomach separates and the patient is left with a stomach dramatically reduced in size. | Obesity | Over 30,000 deaths a year are caused by obesity in England People are classed as obese if they have a body mass index over 30. They are overweight if it is 25-30 Twenty-two percent of Britons are obese and three-quarters are overweight The number of obese children has tripled in 20 years. Ten percent of six year olds are obese, rising to 17 percent of 15 year olds A study by the National Audit Office in 2002 estimated the condition costs the NHS £500 million a year The overall cost to the country is estimated at up to £7.4 billion a year Obesity can lead to health problems including:
- arthritis
- heart disease
- diabetes Source: BBC Science |
A new lifeThe procedure has transformed Buster's life. His weight dropped from 31 stone to 13 in just 10 months. "I feel a million dollars - I can't thank the doctor enough. "I did get it on the NHS and that is rare, but it shouldn't be - I'm not the only fat person in Britain." And he certainly isn't. Adult obesity rates have almost quadrupled in the last 25 years. Now 22 percent of Britons are obese and three-quarters are overweight. Obesity can lead to health problems, including arthritis, heart disease and diabetes. Over 30,000 deaths a year are caused by obesity in England alone. Buster realises how lucky he was to obtain this life saving procedure, given his dangerous weight. Whilst fans continue to enjoy his high octane stage antics, Buster remains forever grateful for the new lease of life he has been given. "I'm fit and well, my energy levels are incredibly high. I'm just the happiest man alive." | 
Inside Out - Yorkshire & Lincolnshire: Monday February 7, 2005