The 20 women standing together on the stage on Saturday were proudly celebrating their moment as finalists in the UK’s Miss Bariatric weight-loss surgery beauty pageant.

Being overweight is a growing problem in the UK, with one in four adults deemed as obese.

Many struggle unsuccessfully for years with diets. While weight-loss jabs are increasingly popular, the weight can pile back on when you stop them, and side-effects include vomiting (the-long term effects aren’t yet known).

Bariatric (weight-loss) surgery offers a more permanent solution.

Options include a gastric sleeve (where most of the stomach is removed, creating a smaller, banana-shaped tube); a gastric band (where an adjustable silicone ring is placed around the stomach); or a gastric bypass (where a small pouch created from the top of the stomach is ‘replumbed’ to the small intestine).

There’s also a gastric balloon - a swallowable balloon that’s inflated in your stomach.

Studies show an average weight loss of 14.9 per cent of body weight after gastric banding and 28.4 per cent after a bypass (over several years).

But all surgery carries risks such as blood clots, and long-term risks for bariatric surgery include nutritional deficiencies and gallstones.

Most of the Miss Bariatric contestants paid for their operations, despite some qualifying for NHS treatment (having a BMI over 40 or more, or 35-40 with a related health condition such as type 2 diabetes) as there are long waiting lists.

Privately, costs in the UK range from £2,000 (for a gastric balloon) to £15,000 (for a bypass).

At this weekend’s competition, held at the Macdonald Frimley Hall Hotel in Surrey, there were two crown: Miss Bariatric UK, for ages 18 to 35, and Ms Bariatric UK, for 36 and above.

But arguably they’re all ‘winners’ after transforming their lives - both in terms of their self-confidence and physically, including reversing their health conditions.

As organiser Senna Michelle-Juchau, who underwent gastric surgery herself in 2021, puts it: the pageant celebrates the women’s ‘empowerment - they have all changed their lives and done things that they wouldn’t have dreamed of before’.

Here, the two winners and other contestants tell their stories...

I’VE DITCHED MY WHEELCHAIR

Katie Daniel, 36, a former support worker for children, retired on health grounds. She lives in Sheffield.

WEIGHT BEFORE: 42st (at 5ft 1in, BMI 111)

WEIGHT AFTER: 14st (BMI 37)

She says: I had a heart attack when I was just 25 - doctors discovered my heart muscle was enlarged as I have a faulty gene and I was diagnosed with heart failure: basically my heart was only functioning at 17 per cent.

I weighed 15st at the time - I’d always been a little overweight, but after the heart attack I spent three months in ICU and started to pile the weight on. Because of my heart problems I was told not to exercise at all.

By the time I went with my sister and family to Florida in 2019 for a holiday I weighed 42st - and I couldn’t fit on any of the theme park rides. I was constantly breathless and had to use a wheelchair.

I knew I needed to take drastic action. I’ve tried to lose weight on diets, but nothing worked - so my doctor referred me for a gastric sleeve on the NHS in January 2020.

I lost 20st, but had the sleeve revised to a gastric bypass last November to lose more weight. I’ve now lost 28st in total, and it’s still coming off.

Before I used to hide myself away, but the surgery has made me more confident to go out. I’m still breathless because of heart failure, but I can walk and I’ve ditched the wheelchair.

My heart now functions at 50 per cent: I feel like a new person.

MY TEN-YEAR-OLD LOVES THAT I’VE LOST WEIGHT

Harriet Southan, 35, a make-up artist, lives in Long Marston, Warwickshire, with her son Freddie, ten.

WEIGHT BEFORE: 20st 5lb (at 5ft 4in, BMI 49)

WEIGHT AFTER: 9st 3lb (BMI 22)

She says: Freddie was diagnosed with ADHD aged four, and I found it difficult to keep up with him because of my weight - in my 20s I was in several toxic relationships and the weight piled on.

I remember taking Freddie to a fairground ride in our town centre when he was younger and being told to get off because I was too large to fit on the ride properly. I felt like everyone was looking at me; it was so humiliating.

I’d tried fad diets - like the baby-food diet, where you eat 12 jars of pureed baby food each day - as well as Slimming World eight times: I’d lose a few stone, then I’d go on holiday and it would all pile back on.

So I paid £10,500 for a gastric sleeve privately in the UK - using money left to me when a family member passed away.

In the first year I lost 7st alone. It hasn’t been easy - when I go out for a meal, I have a few bites and I’m done, and I wish I could carry on eating.

But this is far outweighed by the benefits. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done, and when I see some women out, and I know I was like them - trying to hide away - I want to say to them, 'This could change your life, too'.

I can keep up with my son now, and I even recently did the world’s fastest zip line in Snowdonia, raising £600 for wellbeing courses in schools. I could never have done that at 20st.

Freddie loves that I’ve lost the weight. I play football with him, go to trampolining parks and go climbing - he’s very proud of me.

THE DOCTOR SAID I WAS HEADING FOR DEATH

Christina Ajayi, 53, a personal events planner, lives in South London with husband Zach, 61. They have three children, Erroline, 31, and twins Kenya and Angel, 17.

WEIGHT BEFORE: 23st (at 5ft 4in, BMI 55)

WEIGHT AFTER: 9st (BMI 21)

She says: The doctor’s words just rang in my ears: ‘You could have a heart attack… it’s life or death for you.’ I’d piled on the weight after giving birth to the twins. Then I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis in 2019, and put on more weight as I couldn’t be so active.

People looked at me in a certain way, and worst of all my children were bullied at school because of the way I looked. They’d say ‘Your fat mum is at the gate’, so I stopped doing the school run.

I also believe I was once turned down for a job abroad because of how I looked: all the other candidates were slim.

I’d tried years of diets, then in January 2022 I decided to have gastric sleeve surgery - it cost £3,000, but was the best decision I’ve ever made.

I’ve gone from a size 28 to an 8 - I can now wear skinny jeans!

I recently went on holiday to Morocco and could go on all the excursions (I couldn’t go on camels before because I was too heavy).

My arthritis is much better and I need less medication - and I no longer have to use a machine at night for my snoring and sleep apnoea [a serious condition where sufferers stop breathing as they sleep]. I didn’t want to die. It’s as simple as that.

I’VE HAD TWO PROMOTIONS SINCE MY OP

Kat Ornsby, 37, a performance operations manager for companies, lives in Swindon with husband Dan, 40, a warehouse manager, and their son Axel, ten.

WEIGHT BEFORE: 21st (at 5ft 3in, BMI 52)

WEIGHT AFTER: 10st (BMI 24.8)

She says: The most mortifying moment was queueing up for a ride with Axel at Legoland in 2021. He turned to me and asked me not to go on the ride in case I squashed him.

I’d piled on 10st during IVF treatment to have Axel as we had struggled with infertility, and I’d never been able to shift it.

It was his words that spurred me to act and, looking for a more permanent solution, I booked to have the gastric sleeve in June 2022. I paid £2,900 for it privately.

NHS doctors had told me constantly to lose weight when I went for check-ups, but they never gave me any support or ideas on how to do it.

Since losing more than 11st (going from a size 24 to a size 8), I have so much more confidence. Before, I would only go out in small social groups - now I arrange get-togethers. I even organised a weekend away at Butlin's for 30 other people who’ve had bariatric surgery, and we had a fantastic time together.

We’ve also had a family holiday to Disneyland in Florida - to be able to get on the rides next to Axel, without him fearing that I was going to squash him, was the best feeling.

Gastric surgery has opened up so much more in life for me. I’ve applied for jobs in senior management that I would never have thought of before, as I was too nervous to sit in front of people who may judge me because of my weight. Since my gastric sleeve I’ve had two promotions.

Best of all, Axel tells me all the time that he’s proud of me.

I’VE STOPPED FEELING EMBARRASSED IN MY OWN SKIN

Sherine Lionel, 32, a service manager for a healthcare company, lives in Chelmsford, Essex, with partner Lloyd, 37, who works in hospitality.

WEIGHT BEFORE: 21st (at 5ft 6in, BMI 48)

WEIGHT AFTER: 10st 7lb (BMI 23)

She says: Being able to stand up in front of all the people at the pageant without feeling ashamed of how I look was such a big thing for me.

My parents had always taught me to clear my plate, and it became a habit I couldn’t break. As a teenager, I got called all sorts of names in school because I was so heavy - then, when I was 16, I developed a thyroid condition that made it harder to lose weight.

I went through various relationship break-ups and the weight just piled on - even though I enrolled in a gym and went four times a week, and tried all sorts of diets. The turning point was in May 2023 - Lloyd and I were standing on a mountain in the Scottish Highlands and I asked the tour guide to take our photo.

Later when I looked at it I didn’t realise it was actually me in the photo - I looked enormous.

I decided to pay for a gastric sleeve and, since my surgery in September 2023, I’ve lost half my body weight.

Best of all, I have more energy, and I love the outdoors, walking and hiking. I sleep much better, and don't sweat all the time any more. I no longer feel embarrassed in my own skin.

MY SON DOESN’T HAVE TO PUT MY SOCKS ON FOR ME

Georgie Cook, 33, a full-time mum, lives in Kingston-upon-Thames in Surrey, with husband Matt, 36, a carer, and children Anabelle, 12, Zachary, eight, Roy, six, Percy, five and Edward, four.

WEIGHT BEFORE: 17st 7lb (at 5ft 3in, BMI 43)

WEIGHT AFTER: 9st (BMI 22)

She says: For the first time in my life I feel happy in my body - at the park I don’t lurk at the sides, hiding from other mums. I push my kids on the swings, and have so much more energy.

I developed heart failure during Covid - doctors suspect it may have been caused by the vaccine. Being overweight (I’d been overweight since childhood) made things much worse.

I struggled to catch my breath even on a short walk and climbing the stairs made my heart race. Even getting the kids ready to leave the house could trigger heart palpitations and I’d often cancel trips out.

I had five children who needed me, so I was terrified and knew I had to do something.

After trying and failing at diets for years, I opted for a gastric sleeve privately (for £3,400) in September 2022.

I’ve lost almost 9st, which has taken a lot of strain off my heart. A recent ECG [to reveal the heart’s electrical activity] showed my heart function had improved greatly.

Matt loved me whatever size I was, but he says I’m a different person with more confidence now.

I used to have to ask my son Zach to put on my socks for me as I couldn’t reach, and he doesn’t have to do that any more. And it’s helped my daughter, who is autistic, become more confident, too - as she’s seen my confidence grow.

AND THE WINNERS...

MISS BARIATRIC: 'SINCE LOSING WEIGHT I’VE FOUND LOVE AND CLIMBED MOUNTAINS'

Jessie Andrews, 32, a social media manager, lives in Redditch with partner Luke, 32, an insurance broker.

WEIGHT BEFORE: 17st 1lb (at 5ft 10in, BMI 34)

WEIGHT AFTER: 10st (BMI 20)

She says: Climbing to the top of my ninth mountain this year (Y Garn in Wales) was an amazing moment: since losing weight, I’ve vowed to climb 12 mountains in 12 months - standing on top of a summit is a reminder of everything that I’ve achieved.

I had no confidence in myself when I weighed 17st - people used to tell me I had a pretty face, but I would hide behind humour. I didn’t believe anyone could possibly love me, so I never put myself out there on the social scene.

I’d put on the weight when I was at university; then I was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome [a hormone disorder] in 2017, which helped explain why I was so heavy.

I’d tried every diet I could, but the weight would come back.

I was approaching my 30s and was at my heaviest when I decided didn’t want to hide in a corner any more.

Surgery is more expensive than weight-loss jabs but it was an investment and more permanent. So I booked the gastric sleeve privately in January 2023.

It’s not been easy: since the surgery, I can’t eat anything like I used to. My mum makes the best roast dinners, and I’d previously finish everyone’s leftovers - now my portion size is a side plate.

But I’ve taken a course on nutrition and aim to become a bariatric coach to help other people who are on this journey.

The best part? My self-confidence has soared. People notice me now, and since losing the weight I’ve found love with Luke and am incredibly happy.

I’m in shock to have won this crown - I would have happily rooted for any one of those women to win.

MS BARIATRIC: 'I’VE GONE FROM BEING THE SIZE OF A FRIDGE TO FEELING 21 AGAIN!'

Pamela Phillips, 42, who works in the wellbeing industry, lives in the West Midlands with husband Matt, 42, a firefighter, and their daughter 15, and son, ten.

WEIGHT BEFORE: 20st 8lb (at 5ft 11in, BMI 40)

WEIGHT NOW: 11st (BMI 21)

The turning point for me came in February 2023 when I got out of a taxi on a night out, a month after being admitted to hospital with three prolapsed discs, and someone shouted that I looked like Gemma Collins from the reality TV show The Only Way Is Essex. She is beautiful, but the obvious reference to my weight crushed me.

For years I’ve had to live with strangers’ comments: men would come up to me in clubs and tell me how big I was - as if I didn’t know that.

I’d struggled with my weight all my life - yo-yo dieting since 17. I didn’t eat big portions but I’d snack at night on biscuits, chocolate and crisps.

I tried all kinds of diets and even qualified as a personal trainer in 2017, but if I managed to lose some weight, it would always go back on again.

I tried the weight-loss jab Saxenda in 2022 and lost 3st - but, financially, it was difficult to maintain, so I put the weight back on.

I wanted something more permanent, so I had a gastric sleeve privately. I’ve gone from being the size of a fridge to feeling 21 again!

It’s changed my life: with two of my friends who’ve also had gastric surgery, we’ve set up Barifest, the UK’s first weight-loss festival to celebrate transformation, no matter how you lost weight. The first festival will run in May 2026, and it’s going to have live music, wellness and confidence workshops.

I watched every woman at this awards come out of their shell: we’ve had the longest time of being the fat friend, the one who takes the photos of their slimmer friends, the one who gets heckled in the street for her weight.

But this weekend we’ve finally stood in the limelight, feeling amazing. I have won the crown - but it belongs to everyone.