I’d rather go on claiming than go under the knife

Yet Jodie, who suffers from a string of obesity-related illnesses, refuses to have the operation, claiming her size is down to fluid retention, not poor diet and a lack of exercise.

She said: “I’m not going under the knife for anyone because I don’t think I’m doing anything wrong.

“Doctors keep on shouting at me to lose weight but I don’t even eat that much.

“My cooked breakfasts are my treat. My mum would come over every day and we would have sausage, bacon, beans and toast but the dietician had a go at me for that.

“She said ‘what’s the point in me coming here if you won’t try?’ so I told her not to come again. I wasn’t going to give up my breakfasts.”

Jodie told the Sunday People that one doctor had suggested she suffers from lipoedema, a long-term chronic condition which causes fluid retention in the legs and lower body.

She has also been diagnosed with type two diabetes and has to take medication to control the condition.

Jodie said: “Every time I go to the doctors they tell me I’m going to die if I don’t lose weight. But none of them understand that I have a condition that’s making me this weight. I eat potatoes and pasta, not takeaways, so it’s not my fault.”

“They don’t believe me that I don’t eat too much so I had to get my own mobility scooter – t he NHS wouldn’t provide one. My boyfriend bought it for me so I can get out.”

Jodie receives a monthly Disability Living Allowance of £315 and £360 in Income Support

as well as a free bungalow. As a result of her weight she now also receives help to bathe.

She explained: “I have carers come in and wash my legs and make sure I’m clean because otherwise I could get infections and that would be