Malissa Jones: Once Britains fattest teen now fighting anorexia

How in the world does that happen, this story is very sad but also it opens a lot of people's eyes to the truths of surgery because everytime there is a show about a person 6 tonnes or world's fattest this or that. They show you how much they eat and how it saddens their family and then the surgery and the quick weight loss. But they don't show you how many people lose their lives at these surgeries...how many people are unhappy about their bodies after.

Here is Malissa's story:

A woman who was once Britain's fattest teenager is now battling with anorexia after her life was turned upside down by a gastric bypass operation.

Malissa Jones, 21, lost so much weight that she now tips the scales at just 8 stone. Four years ago, before her surgery, doctors were warning her that she had to take drastic action after ballooning to 34 stone.

They warned her she had to shed 20 stone or would die within months. Now the pendulum has swung the other way for Malissa, from Selby, North Yorkshire with doctors now warning she could die in six months unless she increases her food intake.

The sad thing is she is only 21 years old....But I feel like her being labelled as Britains fattest teen probably had a negative impact on her mentally because it is horrible to be called fat or names by people at school or work...where ever but when the whole country sees you as the fattest teen it must be horrific and she probably just wanted to lose the weight and the label quickly go away.

I also think that some of the medical proffession's don't handle the situation very good at all because imagnie someone telling you...if you don't lose 20 stones you will die. The truth of the matter is I doubt she would have died in six months because she didn't just wake up one morning and she was 34 stones. They should have supported her and guided her on to ways she could have SLOWLY lost the weight and not scared her into thinking that having surgery was the only way she would have lost the weight to save her life in only 6 months.

Malissa was the youngest person in the world to have a stomach bypass when surgeons performed the £10,000 NHS operation in January 2008.

She consumed 15,000 calories a day from gorging on chocolate, crisps and junk food - seven and a half times the recommended 2,000 calories for a girl of her age. But parents Richard and Dawn were unable to stop her food cravings.

A day's food included about eight Mars bars, 10 packets of crisps, several sandwiches and takeaways from the local chippie. I spent all my pocket money on food.

'I was only happy when I was eating,' she told Closer Magazine

15,000 calories that's a lot and I feel like instead of having surgery they should have encourged her to do more sports like swimming, walking or riding a bike. 3 times a week. It's fun...she would have lost weight and all the skin around her body would still look good not like now. Also instead of saying 15000 calories to 2.000 they could have slowly introduced healthier foods and she could still eat what she wanted....Also councelling would have been good because she said eating made her happy...why? What made her sad...bullying/ family issues. It would have taken her years to lose 20 stones but she would have gained so much more and she would be truelly healthy...

'I know it sounds ungrateful, but I preferred my body when I was fat,' the 19-year-old said.

'At least it was firm and curvy, not droopy and saggy. I had nice firm arms - now the skin just hangs and I have to cover them up because they look so awful.'

'I hoped being slimmer would mean I could wear a bikini and go swimming, but I'm too ashamed of my body.

After she miscarried a baby at 15 weeks, Malissa was distraught when doctors told her she is unlikely to carry a baby full term as her scarred stomach can't take the pressure of a growing uterus.

That is one of the worst things a women could hear...you can't have anymore children...Sooo many horrible things at only the age of 21 years old. To wake up and exercise 3 times a week is not hard and to have 1 or 2 mars bar instead of 8 can be hard but if people around her had advised her and supported her right she could have fought this...and anyone else who is considering this opperation...it's not worth it. I would rather go for a walk everyday....forget diets/ pills all that is a waste of money....

Malissa grew up in a family who all had weight problems. Her mother Dawn, 46, is now 16st but weighed 10st more before having her own gastric band fitted.

However her mother said: 'I don't regret encouraging her to have it, the bottom line is Malissa would have died if she didn't lose the weight.'

The sad thing is her surgery could have killed her and now she is battling anorexia and could die.

Her mother probably thought that "You know it worked for me, it will work for my daughter...children do tend to follow their parents a lot...I blame the parents...I don't think they tried at all to support her and motivate her to walk or to eat less but they were just like yupp..34 stones lets go and get surgery.....I feel like if they worked harder to support their child they could have had grandchild in the future.


'Food made my physically sick,' she said. 'I had to force myself to eat.' Her daily diet is now three cooked carrots, two portions of parsnip and a roast potato, which provides 300 calories.

'I'm too thin. My body shocks me. But swallowing is painful. Eating a tiny amount gives me stomach cramps or makes me sick.

'I will most likely die of a heart attack, so I must persevere with eating. I am trying, but it is so hard.'

Too fat = heart attack

Too skinny = heart attack

Now what? .....