BIG BOYS DON'TCRY

SINGAPORE- Mr John Hoe Yang Whee lost 10kg recently but he doesn't see any difference when he looks in the mirror.

"I was quite surprised because I don't see any physical changes in myself," said Mr Hoe, who is morbidly obese - defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of 40 and above, (BMI is calculated by dividing one's weight in kilogrammes by the square of one's height in metres.)

Mr Hoe, 35, said the fat-measuring machine "couldn't even measure (his) fats content" when he first embarked on the "Lose to Win Challenge", a weight loss programme organised by the Health Promotion Hoard (HPB). Body-fat percentages of below 5 per cent and above 50 per cent don't compute, according to Mr Hoe, an only child who has been overweight since he was five years old.

At 1.68m tall and weighing 1S3kg, he had a BMI of 54.2 when he started the on-going 12-week regimen, which is also the subject of an upcoming TV reality slhow.

A BMI of 27.5 and above places one in the "high risk" health category. Lose to Win, which started on Aug 11, has corporate focus and its 287 participants, who come from 72 companies, all have a BMI of 25 (indicating "moderate risk") and higher.

I met Mr Hoe, who now weighs 143kg, at the venue of his choice, Jurong West Stadium, where he and his wife, Ms April Chong, were walking along the track.

Mr Hoe,  who works as a warehouse supervisor, appeared to have gone from zero to hero in the exercise stakes. In addition to "Lose to Win's" twice-weekly mass exercise sessions, called "boot camps",  he takes brisk walks three times a week, he said.

Previously, typical breakfast would be "a plate of fried bee hoon mee with luncheon meat, egg and maybe a chicken wing", now it could be four slices of bread with lettuce and ham, he said. Gone too, are the big hawker dinners, where the couple, who have been married for six years, would share "fried kuay teow, 30 sticks of satay or luak (oyster omelette) and chicken wings", he said.

The effects of weight loss seem to have been liberating. Said April, 35: "At least when we suggest going somewhere else, he'll say yes, instead of last time when he would say, "no lah, a lot of people there". Mr Hoe explained: ·We being big, when you go to places that are very crowded, it feels ... that you're blocking people and you feel bad."

When asked ifhe faced discrimination and prejudice because of his size, Mr Hoe said: "I've not experienced anything that bad yet." The "only thing", he felt, is when it came to job interviews, something he experienced when he was looking for a job in warehousing, a line of work he started out in, and has never left: "Some interviewers will tell you directly, we're looking for a leaner person, who has better mobility."

Mr Hoe, who had tried to lose weight previously by various means - including acupuncture - seemed to brush off situations where he has had adults point fingers at him. (It's "a little insensitive", he said.)

This is not to say that he is not self conscious. He worries about plastic chairs and benches collapsing under him and said he wouldn't sit on the ground for a picnic: "It's very difficult for us to sit cross-legged as a fat person."

When I asked about previous girlfriends, he said he had had one olher girlfriend, some years before meeting April, during NS. (During his five months of Basic Military Training, he lost "30 or 40kg", he said, weight that he eventually regained.)

The first one, I think partly we broke off (because) the mum was telling the girl, 'eh, how come your boyfriend so big?" said Mr Hoe, laughing a little.

Was it love at first sight with April? I asked. I think so, they each said, smiling.

They found each other "cute", they said. "Like a teddy bear," April added.

A GROWING PROBLEM
Mr Hoe, whose target weight is 100kg, is one of an increasing number of obese persons in Singapore. According to statistics from the National Health Surveys (NHS), official findings which are published every six years, the prevalence of obesity among adults has increased steadily.

"Although Singapore's current obesity prevalence is srili relatively low, the concern is that the prevalence of overweight and obesity will continue to increase and reach a crisis level if no effective preventive interventions are put in place." said Ms Choo Lin, who is deputy director of the programme integr.tion department at the HPB's Healthy Ageing Division.

The middle-aged are also at risk of weight problems, said Dr Tey Beng Hea, director of Alexandra Hospital's Weight Management Programme.

Over the past nine years, "we have treated more than 6,000 patients so our impression is that most of these people are in the younger middle age group. The average age, in my impression, is about 35 to 45 years."

Asked if obesity was more prevalent in lower-income groups, as has been observed in countries like the United States, doctors whom Weekend TODAY spoke to, agreed. "In Singapore, that trend is also true. Lower socio-economic groups have other priorities than healthy living. The healthier, low-fat versions (of food) aIso cost more," said Dr Ben Tan, head and senior consultant sports physician at Changi Sports Medicine Centre.

"Also, time-wise, (people in) the lower socio-economic group do shift work, - they may have two jobs: said Dr Tan, who is also medical director of Singapore Sports Medicine Centre, Both centres use the same weight loss programme.

A CEO may be busy but he can often manage his own time. said Dr Tan, adding that "affording the time to exercise is a luxury".

There is a limit to the amount of weight obese persons can usually lose, and their weight loss is conservative, according to Dr Tey of Alexandra Hospital. Referring to those whose BMI is 35 and more, Dr Tey said: "Only 5 to 10 per cent of people in this BMI group lose 5 to 10 per cent of their body weight."

For BMI of about 40, (bariatric) surgery is a better option ... its quite difficult for them to reduce their calorie intake",  said Professor Davide Lomamo, senior consultant at National University Hospital's Department of Surgery.