-One-year-old Hayley was 'overlooked and neglected'
-Doctors were 'arrogant and unprofessional'
-Parents were repeatedly told there was 'nothing to worry about'


By Andy Dolan


A mother driven to despair as her baby daughter lay dying in hospital bribed a nurse with a £100 gift voucher in the hope of improving her care.

Hayley Fullerton died of heart failure within a month of her first birthday after doctors ignored Paula Stevenson’s pleas to transfer the little girl to an intensive care unit.

In the weeks leading up to Hayley’s death, Miss Stevenson became so concerned about the ‘brutal’ care her daughter was receiving that she tried to bribe one nurse to stop her daughter being ‘overlooked and neglected’.

Yesterday, the 40-year-old told an inquest: ‘I was out of my mind with worry and was so upset. The doctors were arrogant and unprofessional.

‘I tried to express my concern to the nurses, I even bought a £100 gift voucher in an attempt to bribe one of them.

‘I hoped the other nurses would hear about it and look after Hayley in the hope they would get one too. But nothing worked.’

Hayley had been diagnosed with a hole in the heart before she was born, and was admitted to Birmingham Children’s Hospital for corrective surgery when she was ten months old.

Miss Stevenson said that while the operation was a success, complications arose during Hayley’s recovery after doctors inserted the wrong size tube into her lung, causing it to collapse.

The inquest heard Hayley’s parents became increasingly concerned that their only child was struggling to breathe and looked ‘puffy’ – but were repeatedly told by medics that there was nothing to worry about.

When her lung collapsed for a second time, Hayley was put in an isolation ward, despite Miss Stevenson and husband Bobby Fullerton begging doctors to transfer her to intensive care.

The couple and Hayley’s grandparents, Sylvia and Edward Stevenson, kept a vigil at her bedside, but Hayley died in November 2009 – four weeks after the corrective surgery.


Hayley Fullerton was born with a hole in her heart, and had to undergo surgery aged 10-months-old to correct it

It was during the recovery from the surgery when complications arose, ultimately leading to her tragic death

A report by the hospital concluded that there had been failings in the little girl’s care and said Hayley may have survived if there had not been.

Miss Stevenson, who kept her maiden name after marrying Mr Fullerton, said that the more she complained about her daughter’s treatment, the worse it seemed to become.

She added: ‘All Hayley did was sleep. What was happening to her was destroying me.

‘Hayley’s experience at Birmingham Children’s Hospital can only be described as brutal.’

Miss Stevenson and Mr Fullerton live in Australia, but Hayley was born in Northern Ireland, where Miss Stevenson grew up, so that her family could be around her. The couple took her to Birmingham Children’s Hospital for surgery because it is a major centre of paediatric cardiac care.

The inquest continues.


Paula Stevenson told an inquest her one-year-old daughter was overlooked and neglected at the hospital


Hayley Fullerton with her grandparents, Edward and Sylvia Stevenson, both helped keep a bedside vigil for the four weeks Hayley spent in hospital before her death



source:dailymail

By Emily Allen


A mother bidding to become the fattest woman in the world has become engaged to marry a chef.

Susanne Eman, 33, revealed her controversial dream of reaching a target weight of over 115 stone last year - to become the biggest human ever.

Now the mother-of-two, who currently weighs more than 54 stone, plans to wed fiance Parker Clack, 35, who loves cooking for her.

Supersize diet: Susanne Eman, 33 being spoon fed by her boyfriend Parker Clack, 38 at the breakfast table

The pair met over the internet last year and hit it off following a string of emails.

Within months Parker moved in to Susanne's home in Casa Grande, Arizona, where she lives with sons Brendin, 13, and Gabriel, 17.

Unemployed Susanne said: 'We are a match made in heaven. I love eating and Parker loves cooking.

Love: Susanne and Parker share a kiss on their bed. The pair met over the internet last year and hit it off following a string of emails

Feast: Susanne enjoys her dinner at a local restaurant tucking into several dishes, including a side salad

'It's a perfect pairing. I still want to be the fattest woman in the world and Parker is fine with that.

'He loves larger women and sees how happy I am when I'm eating.

'His cooking skills were definitely part of the attraction. How could I resist a man with talents in the kitchen?

'His signature dish, spaghetti bolognese, is my favourite. I could eat it all day.
'Parker helps by doing the housework too.

'He does most of the house work, cooking, helps encourage me to go for walks, he goes swimming with me, helps me do anything I have difficulty with.'

Parker encourages Susanne to go for walks and swim to keep her mobile and helps her with anything else she has difficulty with


Keep-fit: Parker is supporting Susanne in her controversial goal of becoming the world's heaviest

Susanne says she has gained several stone since her last weigh-in last year when she registered at 54 stone

Amazingly Parker is supporting Susanne in her controversial goal of becoming the world's heaviest.

Seen here dishing up a home-cooked breakfast for her, Parker cooks mountains of bacon and scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, huge slices of toast and even salad for Susanne.

Parker said: 'I support her because it makes her happy, and I love big women.

'I do worry about her health of course, but I try to make sure she eats some healthy food like salad, and I make sure she does exercises.

'She's taken up swimming since we met and we love to swim together.

Susanne poses for a photograph with her two sons Gabriel, left, 17, Brandon, right, 13, and her fiance Parker Clack. The couple are pictured right, together. Doctors have told Susanne she is gambling with her life

'I know becoming the biggest woman ever is something she truly wants to do with all of her heart.

'She had a check up last year and the doctor said she was fine, even though he doesn't support her mission. He said she's gambling with her life.

'As long as the doctors say she's okay, I'll support her.

'I'd love Susanne whatever she looked like, but if she was a size-zero model I wouldn't have noticed her in the first place.

'We met online and exchanged photos when we were courting. I thought she was beautiful.

'I've always preferred bigger girls. To me there's nothing attractive about a skinny woman. It's more ladylike to have curves.

As Susanne, a size 10XL, continues to balloon, Parker takes her and her sons to the park on day-trips - wheeling Susanne around in her wheelchair

'Men aren't supposed to have curves, but women are, and Susanne definitely has them.'

Susanne says she has gained several stone since her last weigh-in last year when she registered at 54 stone.

She had hoped to be three stone heavier by the end of 2011.

'It's harder to gain than you might think because I'm trying to stay as healthy and active as possible,' she said.

'I've been slowly upping what I eat. It's like an athlete training but instead of training to be harder, I'm making myself softer.

'There's not been a point where I've doubted what I'm doing. It's deep desire for me to do this and I feel I can do it without endangering my health so I don't worry about my boys.'

As Susanne, a size 10XL, continues to balloon, Parker takes her and her sons to the park on day-trips - wheeling Susanne around in her wheelchair.

'My mobility is decreasing,' she said. 'But I always knew this would happen as I gained. I get out of breath more easily and Parker has to push me in my chair more often.

Susanne is served breakfast in bed by Parker who is a chef. Her favourite food is spaghetti bolognese which is his signature dish

'When we go to the store he shops for me. He helps me in and out of the car. He encourages me to do my exercises.

'My aim is to never become bed-bound. As long Parker keeps taking me out to the park for waddles, then I know I can keep moving.'

Reaching her goal would mean Susanne tops that of previous world record-holder Carol Ann Yager, who died in 1994 from kidney failure caused by morbid obesity.

But despite warnings from doctors that she is playing 'Russian Roulette' with her life, Susanne says she can avoid the fate of others who have reached over 1000lbs (71 stone).

'I do my best to eat as much healthy food as possible,' said Susanne.

'I do an exercise regime to keep me as mobile as possible and Parker helps with that. He makes sure I do my stretches and sit ups.

'I want to try and break the stigma that being fat is bad.

'And it's helped me to find love, so hat's wrong with that.'


source:dailymail

By Tara Brady


Winning again: Katie Piper is enjoying having her sight back following acid attack in 2008


A former model and television presenter who was left partially blind in one eye after an acid attack has had her sight restored following stem-cell surgery.

Katie Piper, 29, suffered third degree burns and had to have her face reconstructed after the attack in 2008, when her spurned ex-boyfriend, Daniel Lynch, 35, arranged for Stefan Sylvestre, 22, to throw acid in her face.

The incident left her scarred for life and damaged her left eye.


Katie has had hundreds of plastic surgery operations, including skin grafts to remould the skin around her eyes.

She also had to wear a mask for 23 hours a day to stretch her scar tissue.

But her sight has now been restored thanks to doctors at the Queen Victoria hospital in East Grinstead, West Sussex, who used eye tissue from the cornea of an anonymous male donor.

The cells then grew and three weeks later were stitched into Piper's damaged eye.

Her eye was then covered with amniotic membrane - womb lining donated by women who have had caesarean births which acted as a bandage.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, Katie said: 'It has been an amazing feeling.

'It wasn't like I took the bandage off and my sight came back like that, it happened gradually.

Inspiration: Ex-model and TV presenter Katie Piper who had acid thrown into her face

'But after three weeks I started to see results. I'd seen a lot of progress with my scars, but my sight was the one injury I'd say to myself was permanent and least expected to change. I do feel like I'm winning.'

Sheraz Daya, the surgeon who led the team, has successfully treated more than 60 patients with the procedure.

He said: 'Our goal is to make sure the cornea heals. The best part of it is that it begins to clear and sight is restored.'

Katie: The Science of Seeing Again will be shown on Channel 4 at 9pm on Tuesday.


source:dailymail

-'I love looking after my granddaughters - I never thought that I would be looking after another baby of my own'
-Odds of conceiving naturally and giving birth to healthy baby at 53 same as winning the lottery


By James Tozer and Lucy Laing


At the age of 53, Debbie Hughes imagined the only babies she would be looking after would be her granddaughters.

Instead, despite taking the contraceptive Pill, she has become one of Britain's oldest ever naturally conceiving mothers – giving birth to a healthy baby boy named Kyle.

Surprise delivery: Debbie Hughes with her new son Kyle who came despite his mother taking the pill

Miss Hughes took a pregnancy test after her family teased her about putting on weight, expecting the notion that she was having another child to be swiftly ruled out. But after putting on her reading glasses to decipher the result, the astonishing news began to sink in.

Now she is nursing the unexpected addition to her family, who is 26 years younger than his elder brother.

As fertility experts described her achievement as 'remarkable', Miss Hughes was yesterday relearning the ropes of motherhood.

'I'd already given birth to three children, and thought that those days were definitely over,' she said. 'I was on the contraceptive Pill just to make sure, but I never imagined I could ever have fallen pregnant at my age.

'I'm a grandmother and I love looking after my granddaughters – I never thought that I would be looking after another baby of my own.'

Miss Hughes, a jewellery assistant, who lives with her partner Paul Clarke, 45, a heavy goods vehicle driver, wasn't planning any additions to her family.


Debbie and her daughter, Hayley, in 1980 (above) and in 1997 (below). Hayley tragically died a week before her 18th birthday

She already has two sons Mark, 26, and Brandon, 11. Her daughter Hayley died tragically just a week before her 18th birthday. She is also grandmother to Mark's daughters – Lydia, two, and Nicole, three.

Her suspicions began last March, by which time she was already five months' pregnant.

'Mark noticed my stomach was slightly protruding and he started teasing me that I was putting on a bit of weight,' she said. 'He joked that I could be pregnant, which seemed impossible, as I was still having my periods.

'I thought I was throwing my money away doing a test as I couldn't possibly be pregnant, but when it showed positive I couldn't believe it.

'I'd had to put my reading glasses on to read the result, and I was so incredibly shocked. I went out and bought another three tests to make sure.'

A decade apart: Debbie Hughes with son Kyle today (left) and son Brandon in 2001 (right)

After informing her GP – who 'nearly fell off his chair' – she was booked to see a midwife. Despite being worried about her age, Miss Hughes, of Daventry in Northamptonshire, had a textbook pregnancy, with only a small amount of morning sickness in the first few months.

She said: 'I had been so worried because of my age about whether I was even going to be able to carry the pregnancy to full term because I knew there was a high chance of me losing the baby or giving birth prematurely. But I felt incredibly healthy all the way through.'

She went into labour last June and gave birth naturally to Kyle at Northampton General Hospital, weighing 7lb 11lb.

Pictured with her partner, Paul Clarke, she said her GP 'nearly fell of his chair' when he found out she was pregnant

Despite more than a decade's gap, the magic of motherhood didn't take long to rediscover. She said: 'It was amazing to hold him in my arms afterwards, and I felt the same rush of love that I had felt with my other children.

'I do get more tired than I did before, especially getting up to do the night feeds. But I do love being a mum again.'

Dawn Brooke, from Guernsey, became the world's oldest mother through natural conception at the age of 59, in 1997.

Mark Sedler, a consultant gynaecologist at CARE Fertility, said: 'Falling pregnant at this age without any form of fertility treatment and for the baby to be born healthy and well is remarkable.

'The odds are about the same as winning the lottery.'



source:dailymail

By John Stevens


After reaching 700 pounds, Pauline Potter has officially entered the record books as the world's heaviest woman.

But the 47-year-old from Sacramento, California, now says she wants to lose weight so she can enjoy every day life again.

Mrs Potter had boasted that men think she is a 'sex goddess' and she has 'fantastic sex every day', but she now struggles with daily life and cannot turn over in bed and or fit in her car.

Record breaker: Pauline Potter has entered the Guinness Book of Records as the world's heaviest living woman

This big: Mrs Potter weighed 700 pounds at her peak and hopes to lose up to 500 pounds


She wants to lose as much as 500 pounds in order to be able to go dancing, go on road trips and fit in seats at the theatre.

The world record holder, who currently weighs 643 pounds, blames her upbringing as the main reason for her size.

She said that being overweight is in her genes and that as a child there was an 'overabundance' of food.

'My mom was over 400 pounds and my dad over 600,' she said. 'I have eight siblings all which are over 300, except one.

Appetite: Lunch with son Dillon involves crisps, chocolate eclairs, supersize soft drinks and KFC

In the pool: Mrs Potter goes swimming between three and five times a week at a warm water therapy pool where she does lengths to keep mobile

Fuel: Dillon takes his mother to the supermarket in a wheelchair where they buy doughnuts


'We were just raised, that if it was happy we'd celebrate with food, if it was sad, oh you fell down and skinned your knee, here's ice-cream.'

Mrs Potter said that she has repeatedly postponed losing weight, but has decided it is now time to do something about her size as daily life is becoming very difficult and she has to rely on her son for help.

'Everything is difficult from getting dressed to taking a bath,' she said. 'To reaching, you know, I can't put my own socks on.

'As far as my daily activity I do, everything is very difficult and thank goodness I have a very good relationship with my son and he is very helpful. He helps me do anything that's difficult.'

Before she was fat: Mrs Potter thinks the roots of her obesity lie in her childhood and her genes

Growing up: Mrs Potter said that her family used to turn to food for both celebrations and commiserations


The Californian mother tries to keep mobile by going to a warm water rehabilitation pool three to five times a week where she does laps.

But she has to use a mobility scooter to get around and can no longer get into her car.

Mrs Potter said that one of her problems is that she likes all foods, except sauerkraut and Brussels sprouts, and said she has food every one or two hours.

'I'd be happy at 200 [pounds] maybe 300 but probably more 200 would be my ideal weight,' she said.

Support: Mrs Potter said that she relies on her son for help doing everyday things that she cannot do along with her sisters

Too big: Mrs Potter cannot get in her car any more so has to use a mobility scooter to get around

'I would be in seventh heaven. I could dance, I could go watch Baseball games, I could walk into a Theatre and sit in the seats, I could go on road trips again with my son, we could go to Reno and gamble.'

Mrs Potter is looking for a nutritionist and doctor to help her, but said she also has the support of her network of friends online.

'I have a lot of friends online,' she said. 'I go online there's a support group on there with other heavy friends, so we talk quite a bit online, we exchange phone numbers, we talk on the phone or we email.'

Mrs Potter said she regrets getting as big as she has and would not recommend her lifestyle to anyone.

'I don't even know how to say, it's not fun, it's not fun at all,' she said. 'There is no physical freedom.'

'As far as even rolling over in the bed. Thank goodness I have an electric hospital bed, and I can grab on to the bars to roll over.

'I am mobile to a certain extent but it's difficult. I just struggle every day to hang on to what little bit of mobility I have. It's very hard.'

For more amazing records check out the new Guinness World Records 2012 out on September 15th. Visit www.guinnessworldrecords.com for more information



source:dailymail

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Never going back: Anna has worked hard to drop from 17 to 10st, left, and doesn't want to be overweight again

There's nothing more depressing than flicking through your holiday photos, only to find your happy memories marred by how overweight you look in them. Here, three women inspired to shape up after seeing themselves in their holiday snaps share their stories...

Anna Shephard, 29, is a primary school teacher from Dulwich, South London. She is married to Junior, 28, a mature student. Previously a size 22, now a size 8-10, she says:

As a child, I was big. I ate a lot, and my bad eating habits continued into adulthood. Typically, I’d have two burger and fries meals from Burger King for lunch — and maybe a family-sized bag of Maltesers after dinner.


Ashamed of her size: Sonia was 15st, right, but is much happier now she's 11st and can fit into dress size 12


Sonia Coles, 41, is a teaching assistant from Banbury, Oxfordshire. She is married to Stephen, 50, a caretaker, with two children, Louis, 16, and Samuel, 12. Previously a size 20, now a size 12, she says:

Before I went on holiday to Spain in 2008, I was so ashamed of my size that I didn’t even try on my new one-piece swimsuit. I was a size 18 and couldn’t bear to look in the mirror; I didn’t want to confront the reality of how I looked. We had booked into a lovely apartment complex in Salou, which was full of lots of other British families. By the pool, I was so conscious of my wobbly flesh that I hid inside a towel. Most of the women were slim — and their gorgeous figures were a painful symbol of what I could never be.


Wake-up call: Angela, now 9st, left, knew she had to rid herself of the belly she had had since her youth, when she was 12st


Angela Sweeter, 60, is a hairdresser from Bracknell, Berkshire. She is separated and has two grown-up sons, aged 23 and 21. Previously a size 14-16, now a size 10, she says:

Last year I was going through some old photos when I found one of myself taken in Monte Carlo in 2003. The photo shows me standing on the balcony of my hotel, with my tummy so swollen, I looked pregnant. There’s no smile on my face, no sense I was enjoying myself. What struck me was that nothing about my appearance had changed in the seven years since that photo had been taken. I was still the same size — 12st and a size 14-16.


source: dailymail

By Tamara Abraham


Tipping the scales at 456lb Staci Bridwell was ashamed to acknowledge that she weighed more than the largest contestant on the Biggest Loser.

But thanks to the help of celebrity coach Chris Powell, the 30-year-old, from Haslet, Texas, has lost over 200lb in the space of a single year.

The mother-of-two, who appeared on the latest episode of Extreme Makeover, told how she gained weight in her early teens, and has not been able to shift it since.


Transformation: Staci Bridwell, 30, from Haslet, Texas, once weighed 456lb (left), but lost 201lb in a year after appearing on Extreme Makeover (right)


She said: 'As a teenager I gained probably 200 pounds between the time I was 13 to 15. I was shopping at Lane Bryant by the time I was 13 years old.'

She revealed that she had tried every diet imaginable, but her job as a mobile radiology technologist meant that she spent up to ten hours a day in the car, and fast food had become a part of her lifestyle.

'Weight Watchers, Jennie Craig, The Soup Diet … anything,' she said. 'I’ve done them all, and nothing ever worked.'

In addition to a demanding job, Mrs Bridwell was required to care for her two young daughters, as well as support her husband, Rodney, who suffered a stroke three weeks after they met.

Out of control: The mother-of-two's weight soared in her teens, and by 13 she was shopping at Lane Bryant

Pressure: Mrs Bridwell experienced added stress after her husband suffered a stroke, numbing the left side of his body. As a consequence, she became the family's sole breadwinner


But, as the show reveals, she found the impetus to transform her diet and lifestyle, exercising for up to four hours a day, despite her demanding work and home life.

'I didn’t know what to cook. I didn’t know what to buy at the store. I had to change all of that,' she explained.

'I lost the weight over a year, and now it’s just the way I live. I don’t even have to think about it anymore. It’s already second nature. It’s a new lifestyle.

'The hardest part is getting started and making sure you stay with it.'

Success: Mrs Bridwell could fit both herself and her daughter into the legs of her old jeans after six months


Mrs Bridwell enjoyed a successful first six months, dropping to 290lb at the mid-way weigh-in, but her weight reached a plateau during the latter half of Powell's plan.

She told how she had lost her focus while juggling her hectic schedule, and had slipped back into bad habits, eating fast food and not making time to exercise.

But after a disappointing nine-month weigh-in, Mrs Bridwell's motivation was revived, and a session with Mr Powell helped push her to her goal weight of 255lb.

She said of the trainer: 'He’s a very special guy. He is super-inspiring, and
there’s just something about him being around that makes you feel like you can [lose the weight]. I said I’d give it my best shot - and I did - and it worked.'


Helping hand: With the support of celebrity coach Chris Powell, the 30-year-old reached her goal weight


Mr Powell was equally full of praise, crediting her dedication and motivation to her weight-loss goal.

He said: 'She was the largest woman I'd ever worked with and the transformation is incredible.'

As another positive consequence of her new healthy lifestyle, the whole Bridwell family has lost weight - particularly Mr Bridwell, who has lost 100lb since his wife changed their diet.

'My husband lost 100 pounds!' she said. 'It’s so aggravating, he never even works out. All he did was eat the [healthier] food. I work out for hours!'



source:dailymail

By Daily Mail Reporter


As Pauline Quirke becomes the latest TV star to show off her dramatic weight loss, we look at other famous television faces who have slimmed right down...

Nadia Sawalha, 47, lost 3½ stone, going from a size 18 to a size 10, by working out with a personal trainer three times a week and eating healthier meals

Pauline Quirke, 51, went from 19½ stone to 13 stone on the 500-calories-a-day Lighter Life diet after doctors told her she was in danger of needing a hip replacement

Dawn French, 53, has shed three stone, dropping from a size 20 to a size 16. Denies rumours of gastric band and says it's down to walking plus no chocolate or chips

Fern Britton, 53, lost five stone and dropped from a size 22 to a size 12. Claimed it was down to diet and exercise before admitting to having a gastric band

Claire Nasir, 41, went from 10st 4lb last year to eight stone and a size 6, thanks to a five-meals-a-day diet and exercise sessions that burn up to 1,000 calories

Anne Diamond, 56, ballooned to 15st 10lb after having five sons. Tried diet and exercise, but lost four stone only after having a gastric band fitted five years ago

Lorraine Kelly, 51, slimmed from a curvy 14 to a slim 12 after running the London Marathon last year. Keeps the weight off by eating bananas instead of sweets

Vanessa Feltz, 49, lost weight after her marriage break-up in 1999, but regained it all. A size 24 before gastric band surgery last year, she's now a size 16


source:dailymail

By Andrew Levy



Health kick: Many opt for a healthier lifestyle as they get older


It is an age when our plans to exercise regularly have usually petered out and our waistlines are expanding.

But this doesn’t mean people have given up wanting to be in good shape when they reach 45.

For many, halfway through their fifth decade is a ‘golden age’ when they try to slow the march of time by cutting out as many health risks as possible.


Confronted with their own mortality as they, or family and friends, have health scares, more than a third opt to limit drinking to three or fewer units a week, according to a study.

A similar proportion avoid processed food, while more than eight in ten eat the recommended five pieces of fruit or veg every day.

Nine in ten are also non-smokers, compared to three-quarters of people under 45, and nearly 40 per cent say they ‘never over-indulge in food or drink at the weekends’, a rule just one in six younger people stick to.

The snapshot of middle-age resolve was gathered in a Health of the Nation study commissioned by new supplements company Bioglan, which questioned 5,000 people aged 16 and over.

It found the age of 45 was linked to a decline in health, with a third of people at that age reporting they suffer joint pain, one in five having high blood pressure, and one in ten experiencing shortness of breath.


At the same time, there was a marked increase in concerns about ailments including heart disease, dementia and stroke, with around half of those midway through their fifth decade fearing for their health.


Almost six in ten of this age group re-evaluated their prospects after suffering a health scare, while four in ten took stock after a family member was taken ill.

Other triggers included performing badly on a medical assessment, or an unflattering comment about their appearance.

The level of concern was higher in over-45s than in over-55s, suggesting a laissez-faire attitude in those approaching retirement – perhaps because they were more set in their ways or they felt they had escaped the health problems that often emerge when middle-age begins.

One 45-year-old who has worked hard at maintaining her fitness is former model Cindy Crawford, combining a high-protein diet with a rigorous exercise regime of pilates, cardio work and yoga.

Young people aged 16-17 recorded the greatest reaction to a celebrity health scare, with one in 11 saying they had been affected by one. This compared to one in 30 over-45s and just one in 83 over-55s.

GP Mary Shelby, who helped analyse the survey, said: ‘In the same way that people in their 20s and 30s don’t worry about a pension plan, similarly they are lax about their health choices.

‘Long-term diseases such as stroke and heart disease seem a long way off but once we hit our 40s these health issues become much more real.’



source:dailymail

By Sadie Nicholas


Hourglass figure: Jennifer Finemore is delighted with her new shape

Young mum Jennifer Finemore takes pride in her healthy lifestyle, and the lean, athletic body it has helped her achieve. So it is understandable that she grew frustrated with stubborn areas of fat on her flanks - the lower half of her back - that refused to budge.

'I've always been body-conscious and active and a consistent size 12, slim for my 5ft 10in frame,' says Jennifer, 29, who is divorced and lives in Leicestershire with her children Bradley, six, and Trinity, four.

'I began to obsess about my muffin top and tried crash diets, but while I got skinnier everywhere else, my back fat remained. It was the only thing I saw when I looked in the mirror.'

Exasperated, a year ago Jennifer had liposuction to extract more than three-and-a-half pints of fat from her back and thighs.

It may sound like drastic action, but The Harley Medical Group, the UK's largest cosmetic surgery provider, has reported an astonishing 54 per cent increase in women having liposuction to remove deposits of fat from their backs last year.

They call it 'the Mad Men effect', with scores of British women trying to mimic the hourglass silhouettes of the stars of the US show, set in the Sixties.

Surgeon Marco Moraci says: 'Waists were smaller 50 years ago, as most thirty-something women who have tried to fit into their mothers' old dresses will know.

'Women of the Sixties wore corsetry but research shows people today are thicker
round the middle. A combination of diet and an inactive lifestyle is usually to blame.

Infra-scapular fat - the female flanks - can be found on women who are otherwise slim. This is usually down to genetics.

'We're born with a number of fat cells but they're distributed differently, hence one person may gain weight around their middle and another on their thighs. Most patients wanting to reduce their back fat are in good shape otherwise.

'We don't know why, but the body holds on to these fat deposits as an emergency reserve. Only by becoming severely underweight can you naturally get rid of it,' he says.

Liposuction involves making an incision to the fatty area into which a tube about 3mm in diameter is inserted. A solution of 95 per cent water and the rest anaesthetic is released into the area to liquefy the fat so it can be drawn out.

'Once fat cells are removed, fat won't deposit in that area again, or not to the same extent. But this treatment is suitable only for people who are slim, healthy and have good skin, not those who have lost a lot of weight and whose skin has lost elasticity.

Thrilled with the results: Jennifer's waist before and after the procedure


'For liposuction to be effective there needs to be skin retraction - where it shrinks back into place once the fat has been removed. Otherwise a patient will be left with loose skin like an empty bag,' says Moraci.

'It is the ideal procedure for getting rid of stubborn pockets of fat, which is exactly what back fat is,' he says.

It was when Jennifer got divorced 18 months ago that she first considered the surgery, which cost £4,500.

'I was desperate to feel better about myself,' she says. 'Then a friend had liposuction on her thighs and said it was the best thing that had ever happened to her self-confidence, so I decided to take the plunge.'

Four weeks after a consultation at The Harley Medical Group in Nottingham in April 2010, Jennifer went to its London clinic for the hour-long surgical procedure.


The Joan Harris effect: Mad Men siren Christina Hendricks has become the poster girl for the hourglass figure


'Although I was impressed with the surgeon's CV, and was certain I wanted the procedure, I was a little nervous too,' says Jennifer.

'Any surgery carries risks and as a mother that was something I had to contemplate, particularly as I was having a general anaesthetic,' she says.

'The surgeon reassured me that because I'm fit and healthy, don't smoke and rarely drink, any risk was very low.

'The bruising and pain weren't as bad as I'd expected and my back felt much smoother and leaner when I ran my hands over the compression garment I had to wear for six weeks to aid the process.

'Once the swelling had subsided I was thrilled with the results, more so because I'd dropped a dress size to a ten.'


source:dailymail