At his heaviest, Mr Hayden Sum tipped the scales at 187.6kg.
“I would sit down on the train seat, and people beside me would just pop up – it made me feel a bit weird,” he recalled.
Heading to the office was also a struggle, as wearing a suit made the compliance professional feel insecure about his body and how “the clothes were not enough to cover me”.
These insecurities, combined with the sudden deaths of his father and cousin, as well as his mother’s brain tumour diagnosis, led him to turn to food for comfort, causing his weight to increase further.
He had always struggled with his weight and was on the heavier side, he told CNA TODAY.
But after a near-death experience from pancreatitis in 2018, Mr Sum knew he had to make a change.
Today, the 42-year-old is almost unrecognisable to anyone who knew him back then. Since undergoing bariatric surgery in March 2023, which was delayed due to COVID-19 restrictions, and exercising almost daily, he has lost about 100kg.
Bariatric surgery involves reducing the stomach’s size, for example, among other outcomes.
Since losing the weight, Mr Sum has noticed a shift in how people treat him, often receiving praise and other remarks about his transformation.
While losing the weight has made him more confident, part of him remains conflicted about the change in how others interact with him.
“I’m still me,” he said.
People who have experienced drastic changes in their body size told CNA TODAY that they are often treated differently depending on their size.
Most said they were treated negatively when they were larger-sized, often subjected to “fatphobic” remarks about being “lazy” and to distasteful jokes.
After their bodies changed, some questioned their self-worth because of the difference in how they were treated.
FATPHOBIA
When Mr Nicholas Lee was overweight, he felt that he was constantly treated as comedic relief.
“People would laugh at the fact that a fat guy was dancing or doing something funny,” the 32-year-old said.
“They would make comments like, ‘Shall we go here, but need to walk. (You’re) so fat, can (you) walk?'”
Such jokes and comments, while funny in the moment, eroded his self-esteem. He neglected his grooming, hesitated to dress up, and lacked the confidence to go out. Being in photos was another ordeal.
In June 2023, he weighed 148kg and was struggling with his mental health after separating from his wife. A month later, in hopes of pulling himself back up, Mr Lee turned to exercise.
