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Bariatric surgeon Dr Richard Babor is back for another season of the local documentary series The Big Ward. He tells Sarah Nealon about the show’s ‘feedback’ and what is different this time around.
Winning the fight against weight gain.
When it screened last year, The Big Ward showed the battles some people faced with their weight.
The local documentary show, which is about to start its second season, profiled a group of obese people – most of whom underwent weight-loss surgery and subsequently improved their quality of life.
“We had a lot of really positive feedback from staff and also from patients,” says Dr Richard Babor, who performs this surgery at Auckland’s Manukau Super Clinic.
“They kind of thought that it was very kind of eye-opening about the realities of bariatric surgery and how difficult it is for patients out in the real world.”
The Big Ward, which was a ratings hit, was praised for its sensitivity around obesity and how it affects those who live with it.
“Now when patients are coming in for surgery, following the airing of that first series, they’ve pretty much all watched it,” says Dr Babor. “They’re actually more informed and got some insight into what it is we do and how our programme works.”
Despite the show’s positive feedback there was talk its focus was too narrow when it came to the type of people used as case studies.
“We deliberately tried to get people involved in the second series that aren’t poor and brown because I think that was overbalanced in the first one,” says Dr Babor.
“There are plenty of affluent, white, middle-class people who are struggling with the same thing – which is they’ve got a genetic predisposition to storing
“There are plenty of affluent, white, middle-class people who are struggling with the same thing.” – Dr Richard Babor
energy as fat, and they live in this environment that’s full of sugar and carbohydrates.
“It’s not just a disease of poor people or uneducated people.”
This time around a mostly new bunch of candidates visit the Super Clinic hoping to be offered weight-loss surgery.
Episode one includes Melissa, a bubbly 40-year-old mother who is originally from the United States.
“Melissa had an interesting backstory and she’s a little bit of an exotic character,” says Dr Babor.
“Unfortunately, she’s one of those people who wants to have their cake and eat it and her diet is really bad in an American kind of way. She doesn’t eat anything except American, highly packaged, processed (food).”
Homebody Josephine, who lives with her mother and appeared in The Big Ward’s first season, is returning for the new season.
She didn’t qualify for the surgery last time but is hoping things will be different this time around.
“She was the most commented on and one of the most interesting characters because she is so kind of cute,” says Dr Babor.
“She’s a bit of a deer in the headlights and everybody felt for Josephine and connected with her emotionally, I think, on some level.”
So just how desperate are people by the time they come to the Super Clinic?
“People who come to see us don’t just walk past the clinic on the street and go, ‘Oh yeah, I might go in and get a bit of weight-loss surgery because I’m feeling a bit fat.’ “They are people who have been struggling with their weight for years and years and not had any success with often a combination of diets and drugs and exercise. “They have actually reached the end of their tether and they are looking for a solution that works because they have tried all the conventional things and they haven’t worked.” It is no secret that rising obesity levels in New Zealand are a worry. It is a disease that can lead to premature death. “It’s crazy to be doing surgery on people just because they eat too much, but the problem is it has serious health consequences and there isn’t anything else that works,” says Dr Babor. He hopes that people who watch The Big Ward will take away a couple of things. “Don’t eat sugar,” he says. “If you want me to boil it down to three words that’s it. “Read the labels (on food products). Eliminate carbs from your diet. “We’re not designed to eat them but they’re being pumped into our food supply by the food industry and we don’t have a lot of choice about it.”
“Don’t eat sugar. If you want me to boil it down to three words that’s it.” – Dr Barbor on avoiding obesity