Teens going under the knife for weight loss surgery

Irish teenagers are going under the knife for weight loss surgery, as obesity hits unprecedented levels.

Clinically obese patients as young as 18 are seeking last-resort gastric band operations — made famous by Fern Britton and Sharon Osbourne — in a desperate bid to shed excess weight which is related to type-2 diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, sleep apnoea, and depression.

The Auralia clinic — which carries out the majority of the country’s obesity-related surgeries — said they have seen a dramatic drop in the age of patients.