A Māori mother of four who struggled with obesity for most of her life has lost 73 kilograms after travelling to India for bariatric surgery, highlighting the barriers many New Zealanders face in accessing affordable weight-loss treatment, Stuff has reported.
At age 33, Faren Ormond (Rongomaiwahine, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Tutemohuta) weighed 143kg and told Stuff that her health was deteriorating, with constant pain in her feet, back and knees, and a life consumed by food. She had tried diets and exercise, including fasting, keto and gym workouts, but found nothing worked.
Ormond first sought bariatric surgery in 2018 but was told by a surgeon that she was too young and fit to qualify. Publicly funded operations in New Zealand are only available to limited patients aged 18–60, while private surgery costs between $19,000 and $29,000 for a gastric sleeve or bypass.
Unable to afford treatment locally, Ormond turned to her aunt, Rotorua-based medical tourism agent Annette Brons, who suggested a documentary opportunity in exchange for sharing her journey in te reo Māori, Stuff reported. This led Ormond to travel to Kerala, India, where her two-and-a-half-hour gastric sleeve procedure in November 2023 cost about $7500, with return flights adding $3500. She said the talent fee from the production covered the costs.
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The experience is documented in Pukunati: Lose Weight or Die, an eight-part series debuting on Māori+ and Whakaata Māori on September 1. It follows both Ormond and Rotorua journalist Roihana Nuri as they undergo bariatric surgery in India.
Ormond, now 34 and weighing 74kg, told Stuff her motivation was to set a healthier example for her children and be active with them. She added that without the documentary, she would have borrowed from her parents or used KiwiSaver to fund the procedure overseas.
Her aunt, Brons, said she has helped more than 200 New Zealanders, mostly Māori, access surgeries in India over the past eight years, citing long waiting lists and virtual doctor appointments at home. She said while she would prefer affordable local options, countries such as India, Turkey and Mexico made treatment financially possible.
Producer and director Ngahuia Wade said the programme aimed to spotlight Māori health inequities, noting that extreme obesity rates are almost three times higher among Māori adults and more than double among Māori children compared with non-Māori. She said telling the story in te reo Māori was essential to addressing what she called a life-and-death issue.
Health New Zealand’s national chief medical officer, Dame Helen Stokes-Lampard, acknowledged that some patients sought surgery overseas but warned of the risks, including long-haul travel soon after operations and exposure to healthcare systems with different regulations, Stuff reported. She said Health NZ remained committed to improving access to elective surgeries, including bariatric procedures, across the country.