Former World’s Fattest Man Sues U.K.

Is it the government’s fault that Paul Mason was fat? Mason, once the heaviest man alive, is filing suit against Britain's National Health Service for poorly advising him on his fight against obesity. Mason told the Sun that he cried for help from the NHS as early as 1996—but instead of diagnosing him with what was clearly an eating disorder (his calorie intake was 20,000 calories a day at one point), they told him to go on a diet and ride his bike more. Years later and weighing in at almost 1,000 pounds, he chronicled his struggle on a TV show called Britain's Fattest Man, which culminated with the broadcasting of his life-saving gastric bypass surgery. The show also revealed that Mason cost British taxpayers more than $3,000 a week before he had the surgery. "I want to set a precedent so no one else has to get to the same size—and to put something back into society," Mason said.