UPDATE: |Dad recorded ‘goodbye message’ to family after terrifying moment while out shopping News

Kenny Higgins, 48, was out with his daughter at the supermarket when he experienced a terrifying ‘wakeup call’

A dad, who was once morbidly obese, has shed over 22st (139.7kg) after giving up a £140 weekly takeaway habit, earning him a prestigious slimming award.

At his heaviest, 48-year-old Kenny Higgins weighed a staggering 34st 7lbs (206.3kg), and found it difficult even to walk. The turning point came when he collapsed in a supermarket while shopping with his then-six-year-old daughter, Hope.

Now weighing 12st 7lb, having lost nearly two-thirds of his body weight, Kenny has been crowned Slimming World’s Greatest Loser 2025.

He said: “I’m able to move now without being in crippling pain, and I’m no longer dependent on other people to help me get by.

I also don’t have to think twice about simple tasks that once felt impossible – like doing my food shopping or tying my shoelaces.

“Being able to fit in the chairs comfortably is the best feeling too.”

Kenny, from Blackpool, Lancashire, said that he was often bullied at school for being the “big kid”, and his weight issues only worsened as he aged.

He said: “I used food as a source of comfort, and lived on takeaways and junk food – I used to spend a minimum of £140 a week on them.

“I was barely living – I was too scared to leave the house, and when I did, it was usually for one of my many visits to the hospital.

“I also reached a point where all my health problems became too overwhelming.”

The father suffered from “severe” back pain and “out of control” asthma, leading to a constant struggle with chest infections.

Kenny had tried different weight loss methods but nothing seemed to work in the “long term”.

He said: “I had been referred to nutritionists and other weight-loss groups through my doctor in the past however I never felt like I was getting any actual support.

“In the end I’d revert back to my old habits and would be back at square one in no time.

‘I was put on a ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ order’

The dad had lost weight before shedding 17st with Slimming World 10 years ago in 2015 but said “life got in the way” so he “stopped going” causing him to regain the weight.

However, a frightening health scare during an outing with his daughter in 2023 was the start of his journey to lose weight.

He said he recorded a “goodbye message” for his loved ones after being rushed to hospital

Recalling the moments Kenny said: “I was rushed to hospital and the doctors told me I was the verge of having a heart attack.

“I was initially put on a ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ order because they didn’t believe I’d be able to survive.

“By some miracle, I managed to pull through – this was the wakeup call I needed to make a change this time for good.”

Following three weeks in an Intensive Care Unit Kenny’s friend Bev Houlihan encouraged him to re-join Slimming World and together they headed to a group in Blackpool.

He says: “I was worried I’d be judged for regaining the weight I’d lost all those years ago, but I needn’t have been.

“My consultant Natalie helped me look at the positives and reminded me that as I’d done it once before, I could do it again – and that’s stuck with me throughout my whole journey.”

Kenny won Slimming World’s Greatest Loser 2025 which is awarded to the member with the biggest weight loss within the organisation’s 13,000 groups. Kenny said: “I wanted to be the best dad I could be for my children, and now I can be the version they deserve.

I’ve finally found that silver lining that people talked about and it is just the beginning for me.”

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