Obese teenager from North Tyneside has gastric bypass - BBC News

Obesity rates among young people in the North East are so alarming doctors here think we should be operating on extremely overweight teenagers.

Weight loss surgery is normally only offered to adults. But with more and more young people getting so fat their lives are at risk, some experts think gastric surgery for children is the only answer.

Sixteen-year-old Jen Hogarth, from North Tyneside, was told she would be dead by the age of 20 if she didn't lose weight.

She is one of only a few young people in this country to have a gastric bypass.

BBC Look North's Chris Jackson's report contains pictures of an operation.

Find out more about Jen's story on Inside Out on BBC One at 7.30 on Monday, 10 January.