Schoolgirl who became Britain's youngest gastric bypass patient loses TEN STONE in just one year

-Teenager weighed 23 stone and was so depressed she contemplated suicide
-17-year-old now in love with college friend after dramatic weight loss


By ANTHONY BOND


At the tender age of 16, Jeniffer Hogarth was told she was eating herself to death.

Weighing an enormous 23 stone, she was so depressed by her size that she even contemplated suicide.

But just a year later, the teenager's life has been completely transformed.

Transformation: Jeniffer Hogarth used to weigh an enormous 23 stone but since having a gastric bypass operation she has lost an astonishing 10 stone in one year

After becoming the youngest person in Britain to have a gastric bypass operation, the plucky teen has lost an astonishing 10 stone and has even found love.

Jeniffer, now 17, said she dreads to think how big she would be if she hadn't had the operation.

'I couldn’t even think of pretty Christmas party outfits as I was the size of a house,' she told The Sunday Mirror.

'Now I can’t wait to go to shops like TopShop and New Look like all my friends.

'I’ve even found a gorgeous boyfriend. It’s almost like I’ve been reborn. I feel amazing.'

The youngster, from Wallsend, Tyne & Wear, took the drastic decision to have the gastric bypass operation after doctors warned her that she would not live to see 21.

She was putting on a stone every three months and was a size 30.

Her weight problems began at the age of nine after she comfort ate to cope with school bullies.

She would start her day by eating chips for breakfast and would eat 10 bags of crisps a day.

Her weight gain became so severe that by the age of 15 she needed a respirator to breathe at night

She was also diagnosed with the early symptoms of diabetes.

Her mother Tracey, 38, admitted to The Sunday Mirror: 'I tried everything, but if I put a plate of vegetables and fruit in front of her she would gag and refuse to eat it.'

She was initially refused a request for a gastric bypass by local health chiefs because of her age.

But her determined mum found a surgeon in Sheffield who agreed to perform the operation - which cost £12,0000 - on the NHS.

Her stomach was dramatically reduced to the size of a golf ball which leaves her feeling full after eating just a tiny portion.

She now eats fresh food, regularly exercises and has found love with 17-year-old college friend Craig Binns.

Now confident and self-assured, Jennifer feels like anything is possible and is hoping to enroll on a performing arts course.


source;dailymail