'World's heaviest man' writing diet advice book

IPSWICH: Obese Ipswich man Paul Mason is hoping to write a best-seller - to reveal how he has been losing his incredible weight.

IPSWICH: Obese Ipswich man Paul Mason is hoping to write a best-seller - to reveal how he has been losing his incredible weight.

Mr Mason was 70 stone and believed to be the world's heaviest man, but a determined diet has seen him lose 20 stone so that he could have a life-changing and possibly life-saving operation.

Now the former postman, described as the man who loved food too much because of his addiction to grub, is said to be writing a book about his life to help others caught in similar circumstances.

Mr Mason, 48, is said to have revealed to staff at St Richard's Hospital, Sussex - where he has been having a gastric bypass operation at the specialist unit for obese patients - that he has started writing the book about his journey.

It is not yet known whether he has a publisher or when the book will be on the shop shelves.

He is currently being followed by a TV crew who are filming a Channel 4 documentary about his life and his bid to shed the pounds. The show is expected to be aired soon.

Mr Mason had to be starved before he could have the gastric bypass, a surgical procedure to make the stomach smaller and the digestive system shorter.

Doctors were worried about the risks involved, given the strain his heart would be put under following the general anaesthetic, and he managed to get his weight down to 49 stone.

He is now understood to be back at his home in Ipswich but may need another operation in six months.

It is thought his aim is to get into a mobility wheelchair and eventually drive a car.