A mother has spoken of her anguish for her daughter, who, at the age of 13, weighs almost 20 stone...

A DESPERATE mother fears her 13-year-old daughter, who weighs 19 and a half stone, may die if she doesn't stop eating.

Natalie Cox who wears size 30 clothes, is a compulsive eater who is stuck in a vicious circle she fears she will never escape.

Her mother, Cheryl Cox, from Winchester says if her daughter was underweight then more would be done to help her.

She said: "I have sat Natalie down and told her that she will die if she continues to eat like this but she just eats more. A dietician is not going to cure Natalie's habits. It has gone beyond someone saying 'Here's a diet, stick to it. I'm at my wits' end. I have repeatedly taken her to the doctor's, I've tried a dietician, I've taken her to slimming classes and I've even hired a personal trainer."

Natalie, who dreams of one day becoming a vet, says she comfort eats because she is being bullied about her weight - and her size means she has had to give up horse-riding, the hobby she loves.

The teenager's daily calorie intake is about 7,000 calories when it should ideally be about the 1,800 mark. Every day she eats beans on toast followed by an egg mayonnaise sandwich for breakfast.

For lunch Natalie has a jacket potato with cheese and beans while supper is steak, potatoes and vegetables.

But it is the snacks between meals that make Natalie pile on the pounds. During the morning, she munches a blueberry muffin, a packet of crisps, a sausage roll and a pizza.

Then between lunch and supper she has two packets of sweets, two packs of crisps, a chocolate bar, half a packet of biscuits, cheese spread sandwiches and pasta smothered in mayonnaise.

But it is still not enough to satisfy her huge appetite. After supper, she has a family-size bar of chocolate, a king-size chocolate bar, the remainder of the biscuits and two large bowls of cereal.

Natalie's food intake means her body has ballooned - her waist measures 50 inches and her hips are 58 inches. Her feet are size six but because of the excess weight she has to wear size nine.

Mrs Cox said: "The only thing that will work for her is to have an operation where they put a band around her stomach to limit her intake of food.

"Something drastic has to be done or Natalie is going to die from being overweight. I'm trying desperately to get her the operation but privately it costs £3,500 and we just can't afford that."

Natalie's weight was normal when she was born but the problems started when she was a child and would not stick to a healthy diet.

"I went to various slimming classes with her but she was continually glared at because of her age and size, said Mrs Cox. "Natalie is watching her life go by. She has no quality of life."

Mrs Cox said her daughter eats in secret and also refuses to exercise and gets her mother to write notes so she can be excused from PE lessons.

"She used to horse-ride every week but she was getting too heavy for the horse. That broke Natalie's heart.

"It was embarrassing for Natalie when she had to have an extension fitted to her seat belt when we went on holiday to Lanzarote. She's 13 and has no friends. People spit at her and when she walks past they say 'Oh my God, the ground's moving."'

Natalie said: "I just can't stick to a diet. I have tried really hard. I come home from school and feel really depressed about my weight and I just start eating again. Every step I take I can hear my bones clicking and I get out of breath walking short distances because of the excess weight."

But asked what she thinks her future holds for her, Natalie simply replied: "Eating."

Nutritionist for the British Heart Foundation Sarah Stanner said children are generally getting bigger. "We are hearing about more and more cases where children have piled weight on.

"Obesity is caused by people taking in more calories than they burn off. If a child is obese, the first thing that needs to be done is to find out what is causing it. If it turns out there is nothing medically wrong and if it is a lifestyle issue then we would try to get them to be more physically active and make quite dramatic dietary changes."

OBESITY FACTFILE:

A RECENT study, management of obesity in children and young people, came up with the following information.

Obesity in children is becoming more common.

Obesity is due to an imbalance between energy consumption and energy expenditure.

Obese children do not have low energy needs - they have high energy needs to support their high body weight.

Obesity is a health concern in itself and also increases the risk of other serious health problems such as high blood pressure, diabetes and psychological distress.

An obese child tends to be an obese adult.

There is no evidence that any drug treatment is effective in treating obesity in children.

Obesity in children may be prevented by making lifestyle changes such as increasing physical activity and encouraging a well-balanced diet.

Family support is necessary for treatment to succeed.

Most children are not obese because of an underlying medical problem but as a result of their lifestyle.