She had been suffering from a metabolic disorder
Beijing: A 31-year-old believed to be China's fattest woman weighing about 244 kgs is looking forward to a new lease of life after undergoing a major operation aimed at helping her lose weight. Having tried many other ways to shed the fat, Lu Weishan, 1.65 meters tall, had gastric bypass surgery in northeast China's Jilin Province, last week.
In a procedure likely to become more common as Chinese people develops a growing obesity problem, Lu's stomach was divided into two pouches by surgeons at the China-Japan Union Hospital. With a smaller stomach, she should feel full more quickly. Lu has been offered new hope after three decades of desperation. She weighed only 3.75 kg when she was born, but her body ballooned as she became a food addict, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
"I've never felt full. I can't help stuffing myself. Many of my friends have fallen in love and gotten married, but I haven't ever dared think about it," she said. Since her 20s, Lu has tried exercising, dieting, taking slimming pills and traditional Chinese acupuncture and massage -- all with little effect. "I was waiting for death," she recalled. She hid at home for six years until last month, when she heard of the obesity treatment in Changchun, typical of big Chinese cities in that it offers more advanced medical facilities than in smaller towns.
After examination, doctors diagnosed Lu's overeating as a metabolic disorder and said that obesity was seriously damaging her cardiopulmonary system. "The sooner you receive weight-loss surgery, the better. Otherwise you might die before your 40s," Lu's surgeon, Jiang Tao, warned her. "(Gastric bypass) is a common weight loss surgery in the US.
Such a restrictive strategy should help Lu shed 60 to 70 per cent of her excessive weight in a year," Jiang said. "She's doing quite well now. She's able to get up and
have some liquid food. With a nutritious diet, she can reduce her weight even more in the future," he added. China has 46 million obese adults, according to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
"Obesity causes many chronic diseases. The earlier patients receive treatment, the less damage the body suffers," warned Jiang. Weighing 300 kg, Sun Liang was China's fattest man until he died aged 22 of heart failure in April 2014. Lu has hopefully avoided a similar fate. She said when she has brought her weight down to a normal level, she wants
to travel and then find a job, and perhaps love.
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( Source : PTI )
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