Amputee Nick Davis (left) before he started his 110kg weight-loss programme and (right) as he is today.
Nick Davis was a big baby.
He grew into a big kid and then an obese adult, with his weight topping 250kg.
In 2006, aged 28, he lost his right leg below the knee in a freak accident and has been in a wheelchair since.
That partial amputation reduced Davis’ weight by 20kg.
And Davis, now 47, said the loss of a limb became a catalyst for change.
At the time, he was among the one in three New Zealanders over 15 deemed to be obese.
He has since lost almost two-thirds of his body weight, including 110kg since linking with Dave Letele’s BBM fitness programme in 2023; a fitness movement he is now a mentor for.
“I love helping others ... and I love seeing people come out of themselves and face their weight demons,” Davis told the Herald.
“My advice to those who need help is ‘no excuses’.
“If I can do it, you can do it. It sounds a bit bold but it’s true.”
Davis now weighs 95kg – he wants to get under 90kg – and has learned the value of good nutrition.
He goes to the gym every day and supports whānau on a 12-week lifestyle support programme for people with long-term health conditions – three days a week.
New Zealand has the third-highest adult obesity rate in the OECD, according to Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora, with one in three adult New Zealanders (over 15 years old) classified as obese, and one in eight children (aged 2 to 14 years).
Pacific adults (65%) and Māori adults (50.5%) have the highest rates of obesity.
Health officials estimate the economic burden of obesity on the country is between $4 billion and $9b per year.
Direct healthcare costs attributable to excess weight are roughly $2b annually, or about 8% of the total health budget.
Davis told the Herald that losing weight gave him back his independence and confidence.
He now drives himself and has no problems shopping from his wheelchair or using crutches.
“I was a big baby, a big kid, a big teenager and a big adult – you know, a large person,” Davis said.
He believes the last time he weighed just 95kg was when he was aged about 10.
“I was overweight from a mixture of everything,” he said.
“Some was from my upbringing. That’s not in a bad way but we had a big whānau where nutrition wasn’t top of our agenda.
“Now I have my independence back and can look after myself, go shopping and even do my own laundry.”
Davis is one of six siblings. The whānau lived in Weymouth, South Auckland, before they moved to Mangatangi – southwest of Auckland – and lived off the grid.
“I mean way off-grid, in shanty shacks,” he said.
“We had battery power and that was mainly for lights.”
Clothes were washed in the river, he said.
“I learned a lot of stuff living in the bush. We were loved. My parents did their best,” he said.
“But there was poor eating. We had a lot of bread and mince stew because we weren’t educated in nutrition.
“And I just kept piling on weight.
“I would climb the hills, go eeling and did what all the other kids were doing. But I was constantly teased about my weight by my peers, who could be pretty hurtful.”
Aged 28, Davis suffered an accident while carrying a couple of large mānuka branches back to the family home.
It was to change his life.
“I slipped and my leg just gave way,“ he recalled.
“My knee had had enough of my strenuous actions and my leg inverted and snapped at the knee.”
I was 28 when I was given that choice. It was pretty much cut it off or die.
Davis – who also suffered blood poisoning in the aftermath – was given the “choice” of “cut it off or die”.
“They couldn’t save it and had to chop it off.”
He said moving to a wheelchair was just like being obese.
“There wasn’t much difference,” he said.
“I was still sitting in the car, too shy or ashamed to get out in public.”
But when Davis moved back to Auckland, he had a light-bulb moment and decided he wanted to do more than become a drain on society.
“I started exercising and got down to a good weight but stress and depression got me and I put it all back on,” he said.
“But I’m in a better place physically and mentally now. What keeps me going is this community that helps me.
“I also would put everyone else first. BBM taught me I have to put myself first before I can help others.”
Davis’ ultimate goal is to walk again.
He also wants to be able to further contribute to society by joining the workforce.
“Because I lost my leg, I haven’t really had a job but my main goal is to walk.
“I have a 6kg edema [excess fluid trapped in body’s tissue] hanging off my stump and I need to get a doctor to sort it and then I can get a prosthetic leg and walk.
“I haven’t really had a job, but my main goal is to walk and work.”
Letele said Davis was an inspiration to everyone around him.
“He pushes everyone as hard as he pushes himself,” Letele said.
Joseph Los’e joined NZME in 2022 as Kaupapa Māori Editor. Los’e was a chief reporter, news director at the Sunday News newspaper, covering crime, justice and sport. He was also editor of the NZ Truth and before joining NZME worked for urban Māori organisation Whānau Waipareira.