'I feel like a new woman': Mother-of-four sets up slimming group after losing more than EIGHT STONE in just 11 months

By SIMON TOMLINSON

Then and now: Catherine Powell pictured (left) in December 2010 when she weighed nearly 20st and today (right) proudly showing off her new figure after dropping more than eight stone and eight dress sizes

If you're in need of a little New Year's inspiration to help you shed those much-maligned pounds, look no further than Catherine Powell.
The mother-of-four is about to start her own slimming group after losing eight stone and as many dress sizes since this time last year.
Mrs Powell, from Alsager, Cheshire, was a size 28 and weighed in at 19st and seven-and-a-half pounds last January.

But now the 34-year-old is a healthy size 12 after shedding eight stone four and a half pounds in 11 months.
She said: 'When I look back at pictures now, I think it's quite scary, how did I let myself get like that? It was not great for my children, I was always tired.
'It got to the point where my health was really starting to suffer. If I left it any longer, it was just going to get worse.
'Last January, I was always tired, carrying around an extra eight stone. I would be always conscious of my size, but quickly make a joke at my own expense.'

Inspiration: Mrs Powell holds a pair of her old jeans as she prepares to start a new Slimming World group to encourage other women to tackle their weight problems

Mrs Powell is now urging other women with weight problems to make a New Year resolution in the hope they can turn their lives around without surgery, crash diets or becoming, in her words, a 'gym bunny'.
She joined a Slimming World class on January 18 last year and began her prolific weight loss.
'It's very life-changing and has been fantastic. It really teaches life-style changes,' said Mrs Powell, who lives with her husband Rob and their four children - Matthew, 19, Jacob, 13, Tiffany, 10, and seven-year-old Caitlin.
'It's very much eat well, everything in moderation, exercise more.
'Everyone with a weight problem will know they want to lose weight, but doing it is another matter.
'If you had a bad week, you feel like walking out the door - stay and get the support of the people there, everybody is in the same boat.'

source: dailymail

Should public pay for implant crisis? Breast implant debacle to cost NHS £150M as 50,000 UK women could need surgery

By FIONA MACRAE and JAMES TOZER

Defective: A plastic surgeon holding e silicone gel breast implants, which were removed from a patient when it ruptured

The taxpayer could be left to pick up a £150million medical bill for removing faulty breast implants.
As many as 50,000 British women, including breast cancer survivors, are caught up in the scandal over implants made in France and filled with gel meant for mattresses.
The true scale of the problem has only just come to light, with figures suggesting the PIP implants have an 8 per cent chance of rupture – eight times higher than claimed over the last fortnight by the UK’s medical safety watchdog.

Review of data: Health Secretary Andrew Lansley is 'unhappy' and 'concerned'

Some victims say private clinics are demanding up to £3,000 to remove the implants. The clinics argue that they bought the implants in good faith and would face financial ruin if they had to remove them free of charge.
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has ordered an urgent review of the safety of the PIP implants and has promised that if there are concerns the Government will ‘act with whatever remedy required’.
He hopes to publish the review’s findings within days, and industry experts expect him to follow France in advising all women with PIP implants to have them taken out.

Review of data: Health Secretary Andrew Lansley is

With each operation costing up to £3,000, the total sum involved could reach £150million.
However MPs and patient groups say it would be ‘outrageous’ for the taxpayer to foot the bill to correct operations which were in the main carried out privately and for cosmetic, rather than medical, reasons.
Leaks of silicone from the implants can cause agonising pain, as well as swelling and lumps in the breast and armpit, some of which can be easily mistaken by women for tumours, causing unnecessary anxiety.
There are also fears that the PIP implants, which were among the cheapest on the market, raise the risk of cancer.

Nightmare: Sarah House has been left unable to sleep and suffering a never-ending ¿nightmare¿ after she found out a faulty implant had ruptured

Mother-of-two Sarah House has been left unable to sleep and suffering a never-ending ‘nightmare’ after she found out a faulty implant had ruptured.
The former social worker and her husband Barry, a retired policeman, have had to remortgage their home in Hereford to cover the costs of treatment.
Mrs House, now 44, had the original implants put in nine years ago because she was unhappy with her 32AA bust.
Last month her left breast began to swell and she was told her PIP implant was to blame.
‘After tests I was told the implant had ruptured, the fluid had leaked and my body fluid had filled up my breast,’ she said.

Terrified: Catherine Kydd, left, paid £4,000 to have her size increased from 32A to 34C in 2004 while Gemma Garrett, right, paid £4,500 for implants at a private clinic in London in 2008

She contacted the clinic last year after a lump appeared in her left breast but was told the warranty had expired. She was later told by a specialist that an implant had ruptured.
Miss Garrett, 30, from Belfast, paid another £11,000 to have both implants removed, but her surgeon told her some of the silicone had fused into her breast, causing lasting complications.
‘I now have huge cavities in my breasts where the implants were and, every six weeks, I have to go to hospital, have a needle inserted into my breasts and the blood which has filled up in the cavities drained,’ she said.
‘It’s painful and unpleasant. I am so angry with myself for having the operation in the first place.
‘But I am also very scared. Am I going to be OK? I don’t know.’

source: dailymail

'I even tried crack to lose weight': World's heaviest mother reveals painful journey from 600lbs and fat fetish videos to her new healthier life

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Christmas calories begone! Christine Bleakley bends and stretches away the Yuletide excesses in her new workout DVD

By GEORGINA LITTLEJOHN



Banish those Christmas calories! Christine Bleakley gets physical in her new workout DVD released today



As soon as the New Year has been welcomed in, the dieting, exercising and detoxing will start in an attempt to get rid of the over-indulgences of Christmas.

So step in Christine Bleakley, who today released her first ever workout DVD to help banish the Yuletide calories and help people get fit for 2012.

The TV presenter is something of a fitness fanatic and was only too happy to share her workout tips with her fans.



In the DVD, 'Christine Bleakley - The Workout', Christine shows off her lithe and toned physique as she works out to a number of exercise techniques.

She is joined on the DVD by her younger sister Nicola, who inspired Christine to do the DVD after she lost an incredible seven stone.



Sibling love: Christine opens the DVD talking to her sister Nicola, who inspired her to make it after she lost an incredible seven stone in a year



At the beginning of the DVD, Nicola is seen chatting to her sister and explaining why she got involved in the DVD.

She said: ''I lost seven stone in just over a year and have maintained it now for just over 12 years, so I'm extremely passionate about health and fitness.'



What's coming up: Christine explains to viewers what they can expect from her DVD



And the siblings team up with personal trainer Maria Fenn who created a range of routines for the DVD and designed especially for women.

Christine introduced the DVD to viewers and explains that it is a 'brand new techniques for toning up, slimming down and getting fit with fantastic routines that you'll really enjoy and music that is great to work out to.'



Stretch it, ladies! Christine and her sister (left) are joined by fitness instructor Maria Fenn as they go through a number of different techniques



The DVD is divided into two sections, with the first focusing on legs, arms, bottoms and core muscles, while the second half picks up the pace with more hardcore routines.

Section one includes Arm Sculptor, Core Cruncher and Legs & Bum Transformer. Section two features more hardcore routines such as advanced training session, the Bleakley Blaster and the Kick Butt Interval Training workout, one of the most effective fat burning training methods.



For bums and tums: Christine and the girls show off some crunches



But her spokesman said: 'The project was very complicated, involving several key people. It has simply been scheduled for April when they are all available.'

Christine spent this Christmas with her footballer fiancé Frank Lampard and his two daughters from his relationship with Elen Rivas.



You too can look like this: Christine graces the cover of her workout DVD and poses with her sister and Maria on the back



But today, Rivas took to her Twitter page to hit out at both the Chelsea star and Bleakley as she accused him of 'trying to stop his children from speaking to their mother over Christmas'.

Christine then wrote: 'I'd happily put the record straight but really don't think twitter is a place to do it when children are involved x.'







source: dailymail

Diet that 'takes 2in off your waist in eight weeks'

By JAMES TOZER



The new diet may be able to help you shed excess weight painlessly (Posed by model)



For those who have overdone the festive food a little, it could be a quick and relatively painless way to get rid of the unwanted pounds.

Research has shown how dieters can trim two inches from their waistlines in only eight weeks by increasing the proportion of protein they eat and cutting back on carbohydrates and fat.



The independent study was carried out by scientists for Marks & Spencer to investigate the claims of its Simply Fuller Longer range of ready meals and snacks.

In the trial, the group of men and women followed a menu planner that combined healthy, high-protein breakfast options with items from the range. Over a four-week period, 45 volunteers, who were restricted to 1,000 calories a day, lost on average 10lb 7oz (4.7kg).

But an extended study carried out over eight weeks found that 12 of the overweight participants lost on average 14lb 5oz (6.5kg) on the diet.



Their waistlines shrank on average by two inches to 37in (94cm), their average body fat fell from 36.8 per cent to 34 per cent, and cholesterol levels dropped by as much as an eighth.

The menus feature snacks and ready meals including Asian-style Lochmuir salmon salad and chargrilled chicken and tomato risotto, with high levels of protein provided by fish and lean meat.Nutritionists say that a diet containing a high proportion of healthy protein-rich foods can aid weight loss because they create a feeling of fullness faster than those containing carbohydrates or fat.



Popular diets of recent times which adapt the principle have included the Atkins Diet and the Dukan Diet.

The study – by scientists at the Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health at Aberdeen University – found that the volunteers felt less hungry despite cutting their calorie intake by 40 per cent.

Senior research fellow Dr Alex Johnstone recommends sticking to the protein-rich diet only as long as it takes to achieve the desired weight loss, then trying to maintain it through exercise.



source: dailymail

The men who walk out when their wives become ill

By JUDITH KEELING



All too often, rather than bringing them closer, illness can wreak havoc in a couple's relationship and even cause it to break up (posed by models)



After suffering cancer at the age of 34, Bethann Siviter was struggling to come to terms with the illness, and the terrible toll it had taken on her body.

But at least she thought she could rely on the loving support of Jasper, her husband of 14 years, who had also been her teenage sweetheart.

Yet Bethann — a nurse who now lives near Birmingham — was sadly wrong.



Diagnosed with womb cancer, she had to undergo extensive surgery, which included a hysterectomy.

But Jasper was revolted by the sight of the surgery wound on her stomach, which became infected with MRSA, leaving a large scar stretching from hip to hip, and refused to care for her.

He insisted that she sleep in a reclining chair while she recovered from her operation because he was worried about the wound touching their bed.



Men seem to be much more likely than women to leave a relationship when their partner becomes seriously ill



‘He couldn’t stand to look at my wound. He would leave the room if I got undressed,’ she recalls.

Jasper, a warehouse manager, was incapable of keeping his revulsion private.

‘Even after I had healed, if we ever made love, it was on the condition that he never had to look at my scar.’

Jasper’s behaviour towards his ailing wife may seem callous and superficial to an outside observer, but experts say this couple’s experience is not an isolated case.

All too often, rather than bringing them closer, illness can wreak havoc in a couple’s relationship and even cause it to break up.

And studies show that men are far more likely to leave an ill partner than women.



source: dailymail

'She demonstrated extraordinary calm and courage': Former Miss Venezuela dies of breast cancer aged 28

By LYDIA WARREN



Tragic: Eva Ekvall, pictured as she is crowned Miss Venezuela in 2000, has died from breast cancer aged 28



Former Venezuelan beauty queen Eva Ekvall has died from breast cancer aged just 28.

The mother-of-one died on Saturday in a Houston, Texas hospital after a two year struggle with the disease, her family said.

Famous in her teenage years for her beauty, Ms Ekvall went on to become a news anchor, author and one of her home country's greatest cancer charity advocates.

Born to an American father and Jamaican mother, she was working in a clothes store in Caracas when she was spotted by a modelling agency scout.

'To me that was ridiculous,' she told the Guardian earlier this year. 'I thought I was overweight. I just couldn't be a model.



Beauty: Aged 18, Ekvall, second from left, was third runner-up in the Miss Universe pageant in Puerto Rico bbg



'But one day I got fired so I took a cab and went to the modelling agency. Once they saw me … they said they had the next Miss Venezuela right there.'

Aged 17, she was crowned Miss Venezuela in 2000. The following year, she was third runner-up in the Miss Universe pageant in Puerto Rico.



Stunning: Ms Ekvall went on to become a model and news anchor for Venevision in her home country



The journalism graduate became a model, actress and television news anchor for Venevision.

She was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer in February 2010, and underwent eight months of treatment including chemotherapy, radiation and a mastectomy.



Loss: A fresh-faced Ekvall in April 2010, two months after she was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer



Battle: Ms Ekvall, pictured, documented her struggle with the disease in a book Fuera de Foco - or Out of Focus



Loss: Ms Ekvall, pictured with her daughter, thought a lump in her breast was due to her pregnancy



She was married to radio producer John Fabio Bermudez and had a two-year-old daughter, Miranda.

In her book, Ms Ekvall described her joy at having a daughter, writing 'that happiness, although [Miranda] may not know it or understand it, keeps me alive today'.

On Sunday, her husband posted a photograph of the two holding hands on Twitter, writing: 'Always together ... I love you wife.'

In a statement, Ekvall's family said her remains were being cremated in Houston on Monday.

'Sadly, cancer had the last word,' writer Leonardo Padron told Globovision.



Family: Ekvall, left, leaves behind her husband John Fabio Bermudez and their two-year-old daughter Miranda



source: dailymail

Does your husband ever see you as truly sexy after having a baby?

By FRANCES HARDY



Baby blues: Matt Milchard with wife Laura and baby Oliver, left, and Russell Clarke with partner Alex and baby Minnie



Philippa Mason recalls that it was a friend’s wife who broke the taboo. Her warning was as shocking as it was unequivocal: ‘Don’t expect to have sex for the first year of your baby’s life,’ she said as she waved me and my husband out of the door.

‘I was glad she said it, although not at the time. She was the only person who warned me explicitly about the effect a first-born child can have on an as-yet-unscathed marriage.

‘Up until that point the warnings had been oblique. “Things change after you’ve had a baby,” women at work would murmur. Or: “Your life is going to be turned upside down.”



Three's a crowd: British mums who were questioned, aged between 18 and their late 50s, agreed that motherhood has a negative effect on sex lives (posed by models)



‘I didn’t realise that was a coded way of saying: “Expect a total loss of libido and to be downgraded to second place in your beloved husband’s affections”,’ recalls Philippa.

The cataclysmic effect the arrival a new baby has on its parents’ relationship — particularly their sex life — is rarely addressed. However, a recent survey reveals a stark and uncompromising truth.

Almost half the mothers questioned in research by the website Netmums believe the man in their life no longer finds them attractive.

The women accuse their husbands of ‘forgetting’ about their sexual identity since they became mothers. According to researchers these men have put on ‘baby blinkers’: they view their partners solely through the prism of their new role as mums.



Left out: Fathers often feel replaced in their wife's affections when a baby comes along (posed by models)



When asked to choose the words their husband would use to describe them, just 12 per cent of mothers said ‘feminine’ while the overwhelming majority — 69 per cent — opted simply for ‘tired’.

The research is paralleled by Philippa’s experience. Her baby daughter’s arrival heralded a shift in her husband’s affections: it was as if she had become invisible.



source: dailymail

Young mother, 20, dies after taking 'a few extra paracetamol' to help cope with breast surgery pain

By TAMMY HUGHES



Accidental overdose: Desiree Phillips died after taking extra paracetamol tablets to help her cope with pain following surgery to remove a benign breast lump



A young mother died from liver failure following routine surgery after she took 'a few extra tablets' of paracetamol each day to cope with the pain.

Desiree Phillips, 20, had a number of benign lumps on her breast removed earlier this year. Doctors prescribed antibiotics and over-the-counter paracetamol to help her cope with the discomfort.

Her family suspected she was taking just ‘a few extra tablets’ a day before she was admitted to hospital with a failing liver nine days after the operation.

The single mother, from Llanelli, South Wales, endured a week of excruciating pain and a liver transplant. But she died at Birmingham Queen Elizabeth hospital on August 26.



Her grandfather Des Phillips and mother Ayshea spoke of their shock and sorrow.

Mr Phillips, 58, a chef, said: ‘She must have been taking a few extra tablets than the recommended eight a day. She seemed fine to us, then out of the blue her boyfriend found her stretched out on the sofa.

‘When we heard she was at hospital we never expected she might die. People don’t realise that an extra two over a period of time can harm your liver if you keep taking that over two to three weeks.’

He added:'We have lost part of our heart, losing her like this.'



Warning: Doctors have told people to beware of a staggered overdose of paracetamol, which is where they take an extra couple of tablets each day over a longer period



By the time Desiree arrived at hospital, her liver failure was irreversible.

Liver failure can result in a potentially fatal build-up of fluid in the brain.

Mr Phillips said: ‘They said she should have a liver transplant straight away but her body rejected the new organ.’

Although an inquest is yet to be held, Desiree’s family is keen for action to be taken to try to prevent similar tragedies.



‘Those who’ve taken a staggered overdose do worse, paradoxically, than the people who’ve tried to kill themselves,’ said Dr Simpson.

A Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency spokesman said: ‘Paracetamol is a safe and effective painkiller when used correctly and when dosage recommendations are followed.

‘Every pack has a warning about overdose and instructions not to take more than eight tablets in any 24-hour period.’



source: dailymail

Woman dies after 16-year anorexia battle in 'worst case' that doctors had ever seen

By SADIE WHITELOCKS



Doctors said that Kate Chilver had one of 'the worst' cases of anorexia they had ever seen



A young woman who died after battling a 16-year eating disorder had one of 'the worst' cases of anorexia doctors had ever seen, an inquest heard today.

Kate Chilver, 31, weighed 4.7 stone and was so thin that parts of her stomach and bowel had ‘died’ through lack of blood supply.

She developed symptoms of the disease aged twelve and spent the rest of her life in specialist medical units until eventually dying from anorexia nervosa.



Doctors revealed that for almost two decades Miss Chilver from Ealing, west London, was dangerously underweight.

A healthy BMI (body mass index) is between 20 and 25 while a reading of less than 15 signals severe anorexia, but hers remained less than 12 and at one stage at fell to just nine.

Dr Frances Connan, a consultant psychologist who treated her at Vincent Square Clinic in south west London, said: 'I’d known Kate since her referral to our service in 2004.

'She had onset anorexia from the age of about 12, her first admission just before she was 15.



'She had the most severe illness of patient I have ever come across.

'At times her BMI went down as low as 9. It’s extremely rare to see a BMI of less than 10.'

Doctors fed her through a tube in a bid to boost her health but all attempts failed.

Over the years she was released twice, both for six month periods, but on both occasions her weight quickly returned to life-threatening levels and she was readmitted to eating disorder units and hospitals.

During the 16-year battle it was reported that Miss Chilver didn’t respond to medication, was unable to 'engage' in psychotherapy and would 'over exercise'.

A post mortem found her heart was less than half the size it should have been, and she weighed less than 30kg or 66lb.



Recording a death of natural causes due to anorexia nervosa, Coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox said: 'Dr Connan described her as the most unwell patient she had ever treated.

'A very experienced pathologist, Dr Michael Osborn, said that at the time he performed his examination Kate was the thinnest person he ever had to investigate.'

Miss Chilver tried to hide the extent of her eating disorder while her mother Lynne tried to make life as normal as possible, regularly taking her out on day trips.

But in the days leading up to her death, she started experiencing abdominal discomfort, and crippled by pain was transferred to Chelsea and Westminster hospital on July 10 this year.



Anorexia is the leading cause of mental health-related deaths and Miss Chilver was sectioned under the mental health act, and remained so until the time of her death.

One in every 200 women and one in every 2,000 men is affected and around 5 per cent of sufferers will die from complications caused by malnutrition.



source: dailymail

We're all 11 stone: That's the average weight of a British woman, but as these five show it comes in many shapes

By HELEN CARROLL



The average weight of women in Britain is rising.

In 1991, Miss Average weighed 10st 5lb, but today, she tips the scales at 11st.

What does 11st look like? Here, five British women, who all vary in heights from 5ft 2in to 6ft 1in, but weigh exactly the same, talk candidly about their bodies.



Angela Garvin, 42, is 5ft 2in and a size 14



She runs an online vintage clothing company from her home in Romford, Essex. She says:

I’m a typical pear shape and would love to shave five inches off my thighs. But I enjoy food too much to put in the effort it would take to get below 11st.

I eat three good meals a day — a panini at lunchtime, pasta or fish in the evenings, and I have a sweet tooth. I can’t resist cheesecake and tiramisu. My gym membership is a waste of money but I walk my Staffordshire bull terrier for up to an hour each day.

The sad truth is that my eating habits haven’t changed, yet at 11st I’m 2st heavier now than I was in my 20s and weigh a stone more than I did in my 30s.

My metabolism has obviously slowed down and the only way to get under 11st would be to consume fewer calories and exercise more.

Seeing photographs of skinny models in glossy magazines it’s hard to believe the average British woman now weighs 11st and is a size 14. Luckily, the older and bigger I’ve got, the more confident I feel in my skin.



Gilly Bishop, 40, is 5ft 4in and wears a size 18 on top and 14 on the bottom



The mother-of-two is a singer and lives in Brighton. She says:

When I’m singing and dancing about on stage, all eyes are on me. Being far from skinny at 11st, I can feel self-conscious. So I’d love to get down to 10st but I can’t see it happening.

Four years ago, after a trip to Florida, I was horrified to tip the scales at 15st and went on a crash diet, shedding 3st in as many months.

Over the following year I lost another stone, but I can’t quite manage to get below 11st.

I wear control pants to hold me in and I’m careful about what clothes I choose, nothing too clingy. I’m top heavy and it’s hard finding sexy lingerie to fit my size 36F bust.

My worst feature is my stomach — it’s been flabby since my sons, Michael, 19, and Josh, 14, were born. If I had the spare cash I’d pay for a breast reduction and tummy tuck.

I think that’s what it will take for me to finally realise my ambition of dropping below 11st.





Anne Clewlow, 33, is 5ft 8in and wears size 12



The events manager lives in Stoke-on-Trent with her husband, Scott Redfern, 37, and son Ryan, nine. She says:

Other women sound shocked when I tell them I weigh 11st, which makes me feel pretty self-conscious about my size.

They always seem to be dieting to get down to 9st, or some other weight that sounds ridiculously low to me. So I was really surprised to discover that 11st is now the average weight for British women.

I suppose I should take it as a compliment that I look lighter than that, but I’m heavy boned and naturally quite muscular.

However hard I try, it’s difficult for me to drop below 11st. I weighed less in my early 20s, before I passed my driving test, because I walked everywhere. But now I’ve accepted 11st as my ideal weight — obsessing about dieting only makes me want to eat more.

Instead, I don’t pig out but I have three healthy meals a day and try not to deprive myself of any food I really fancy.

If I can’t fit into a size 12 there’s no way that I’d buy a size 14 — I’d just pick another dress with a different cut.





Lauren Hennessy, 25, is 5ft 11in, a size 10 on top and 12 on the bottom



She is a Slimming World consultant and lives in Hertfordshire with her husband, Sam, 26, a postal worker, and sons Stanley, five, and Ronnie, two. She says:

I was massively overweight until four years ago and still find it hard to believe people when they say that my 11st frame looks slim.

I used to be a size 18 and 16st 4lb and was so ashamed of my body I remember swimming in a kaftan during a family holiday at Centerparcs.

The weight had piled on after Sam and I moved in together, gorging on ready meals and junk food.

But within a few months of slimming to lose weight for my wedding I was down to my target of 11st, and have managed to maintain it for four years now. It’s taken me a while to get used to my new shape so, for a long time, I would select clothes from shop rails that were far too big for me. I was unable to believe I could fit into a size 10.





Serone Bailey, 24, is 6ft 1in and a size 10



She is single and a childcare student from North London. She says:

There’s nothing I’d change about my body — 11st is my perfect weight. I used to be 2st lighter, I was a size 6 to 8, and looked positively gaunt — I had to wear two pairs of leggings under jeans to pad them out and give me some shape.

People would stare at me in the street and one woman even said ‘You look like a stick’, as I walked by, which was hurtful.

All that changed after I spent a few weeks with family in Antigua three years ago. I enjoyed the local food so much that I came home a couple of dress sizes larger and weighing 11st.

Most people can’t wait to shed their holiday weight but I embraced mine. My waist is still small but now my breasts, hips and bottom are bigger.

I feel sexy and womanly dressing in low-cut tops that show off my cleavage — I’m a 34F — and short skirts to go on nights out with my friends.



source: dailymail

Eating too much cake can make you hairy: The unlikely causes for excess body hair

Excess hair was rated just behind weight gain for body dissatisfaction



More than half of all women are concerned about excess body hair, according to a report published by market research company Mintel last month.

In the online survey of more than 2,000 women, excess hair was rated just behind weight gain for body dissatisfaction.

It’s estimated that one in ten of us suffers from excess facial and body hair. But what causes it?



‘Sometimes race or just a family tendency to be more hairy is to blame, rather than any medical problem,’ explains Dr Rina Davison, an endocrinologist from Whipps Cross University Hospital, London, with a special interest in excess hair.

‘People of South Asian or Mediterranean descent tend to have more hair than Caucasians or those with black skin, for example. It’s also possible to be quite a “hairy” family regardless of race.’

But there are other factors — from commonly prescribed drugs to poor diet and certain ailments — that could be to blame...



Eating large amounts of sugary, refined carbohydrates, such as biscuits and cakes, may trigger excess hair



CAKES AND BISCUITS

Eating large amounts of sugary, refined carbohydrates, such as biscuits and cakes, may trigger excess hair.

These foods have a high glycaemic index, which means they release their energy quickly and can cause insulin resistance, explains Dr Davison.



Insulin is the hormone that controls blood sugar level; ‘resistance’ means the hormone becomes less effective at lowering blood sugar, so the body has to produce more of it to get the job done.

‘The problem is that a raised insulin level may trigger growth factors which make the ovaries produce too much of the “male” hormone testosterone, which can lead to excess hair,’ adds Marilyn Glenville, a women’s health expert and nutritionist.

‘Being overweight can also cause insulin resistance.’



source: dailymail

Anorexic was a day from death after being called a fat ginger cow. Now Annabel is a healthy, happy, hairdresser

By CLAIRE BATES



Better: Annabel Norris (left) said her near death experience made her realise how much she wanted to live. Right: Annabel in the throes of anorexia and with her hair dyed blonde. At her illest she spent three months in hospital being fed by tube



An anorexic who starved herself to within a day of death after being bullied for having ginger hair has overcome her condition to become - a hairdresser.

Annabel Norris, 20, shrank from eight stone to just four stone 13lbs after developing the serious mental health disorder when she was 13.

Horrified doctors warned Annabel she was less than 12 hours from death after she was rushed to hospital when she was 16.

However, she has managed to recover and has now launched a successful career.



Family ties: Annabel with her younger brother during her battle with anorexia: This collect photo shows how sick she became



Annabel, from Gildersmore, West Yorkshire, said: 'My mum made me see I didn't want to die - it's been incredibly hard and I never could have recovered without her.

'I've got over all my body issues - and I'm delighted with my ginger hair just as it is. But during my years as an anorexic, it really was a living hell - I wouldn't wish it on anyone.'

Annabel was relentlessly taunted at school by a gang of bullies who called her 'ginger b***h'. They also plagued her with emails saying she was a 'fat ginger cow.'



She said: 'I grew to hate my ginger hair and my weight so I thought the only way I could be accepted was to dye my hair different colours and stop eating.'

She changed her hair colour every week, would exercise for hours and began skipping meals.

She said: 'Mum became really worried, especially after discovering emails sent to me by the school bullies.

'She took me to see the doctor, who diagnosed me with anorexia and I was hospitalised.

'After four months of intensive therapy my weight increased to a healthy eight stone 10lb.

'I was allowed home but as soon as I returned to school, the bullying started again but worse than ever - I went back to my old eating habits and excessive exercise.

'Within eight months I was back to square one and back in hospital.'



'It has been far from easy but finally I'm a healthy eight-and-half-stone and in control. I even completed an NVQ level 2 in hairdressing - despite being bullied about my hair, I'd always been fascinated by different haircuts and styles.

'Part of me wanted to prove to myself, and everyone else, that ginger hair can look amazing.

'Finally I've got over all my body issues - and I'm delighted with my ginger hair just as it is.'

Annabel is organising a sponsored sky dive for anorexia charity Beat next year. For more information and support visit their website at www.b-eat.co.uk or call the helpline on 0845 634 1414.



source: dailymail