IF there was any doubt as to the potential dangers of weight-loss surgery our story today should put an end to it.

Rachel Sosville went under the knife and had a gastric bypass operation in a desperate bid to beat the bulge.

She is now disabled and unable to eat properly.

Gastric operations are a fairly recent phenomenon and many women will be able to relate to the problems that prompted 36-year-old Ms Sosville to pay almost £10,000 to have surgery.

Latest figures show that an increasing number of women are having this type of surgery in the hope of becoming thinner.

Gastric bands are words in everyday parlance.

But we are sure that if women thinking of having surgery read Ms Sosville’s story, many would reconsider.

Surgery of all kinds is easily available, for a cost.

However, eating a balanced diet and exercising regularly has always been the best way to stay fit and healthy — and it costs nothing.