Heaviest woman hopes to find love after surgery
Xinhua, November 16, 2015
A 31-year-old believed to be China's fattest woman is looking forward to a new life after a drastic surgery aimed at helping her lose weight.
Having tried many other ways to shed the fat, Lu Weishan, 1.65 meters tall and 244 kilograms heavy, had gastric bypass surgery in Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin Province, earlier this month.
In a procedure likely to become more common as China develops an 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.
"I've never felt full," she said before her surgery. "I can't help stuffing myself."
Lu was 15kg heavier than her fellow primary school students. By high school, her weight had reached 95kg; the figure climbed to 149kg at college.
"Many of my friends have fallen in love and gotten married, but I haven't ever dared think about it," she said.
Lu has tried exercising, dieting, taking slimming pills, acupuncture and massage — all with little effect, she said.
Lu hid at home for six years until last month, when she heard of the surgery.
"The sooner you receive weight-loss surgery, the better. Otherwise you might die before your 40s," Lu's surgeon, Jiang Tao, told her.
"(Gastric bypass) is a common weight loss surgery in the United States. Such a restrictive strategy should help Lu shed 60 to 70 percent 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," Jiang added. "With a nutritious diet, she can reduce her weight even more in the future."
China has 46 million obese adults, according to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Weighing 300kg, 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.
