Newshub's Lloyd Burr has opened up about losing 58kg through bariatric surgery - a procedure he believes should get more funding from the Government to combat Aotearoa's obesity problem.
The political reporter appeared on Paddy Gower Has Issues on Wednesday evening to reveal how the surgery has helped him and could be helping other Kiwis.
"It changed my life," Burr told Gower.
"I didn't do this on a whim, I went to Turkey and got it done for NZ$5000. I talked to a few people before I did this and they've spent up to NZ$30,000 or AU$30,000 to get this done. I'd seen the change it brought them.
"It's saved me a lot in terms of medication - I don't get gout as much as I used to anymore. It blows my mind that the New Zealand Government doesn't actually do this for a lot of people. This is an investment in people and it's bonkers it's not funded more widely. It's bonkers people have to go to places like Mexico and Turkey to get this done."
Paddy Gower Has Issues also spoke to other New Zealanders about the risks and results of bariatric surgery, with others also saying more of the surgeries should be funded.
