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The bride who died on the 500-calorie-a-day diet

By Lucy Halfhead on Thursday 10 September 2009

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Lighter life - Health News - Marie Claire

The controversial LighterLife diet is in the spotlight after 17st bride-to-be Samantha Clowe, 34, died after losing three stone in 11 weeks on the 500 calories-a-day programme in a desperate bid to slim for her wedding.

Her fiancé Andrew Smith returned to their Leeds home to find her collapsed and paramedics failed to revive her.

Home Office pathologist Alfredo Walker said a post-mortem examination failed to establish the cause of her death but added: ‘It may be related to her low-calorie diet and weight loss.’

A woman Samantha's age needs 2,000 calories a day. The LighterLife plan uses food packs, including soups and shakes, and weekly counselling, costing participants £66 a week.

A LighterLife spokesman said: ‘Ours is a clinically monitored programme and has helped 150,000 people lose weight effectively and safely during the past 12 years.’

Dr Susan Jebb, from the Medical Research Council's centre for human nutrition said: ‘Very low-calorie diets are a dramatic form of dieting. However, being very overweight is also a serious health risk. But these diets are unsuitable for someone who doesn't need to lose a lot of weight. They're not for everybody.’

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Thursday 10 September 2009

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These things are ridiculous. You wouldn't condone a diet this low calorie if the person was anorexic, and yet these diets ARE similar cals to some levels of anorexia and extreme weightloss. There should be regulations on what can legally be marketed.
Comment by maria on September 10 16:28

First my sincere sympathies to Samantha's family.

About the diet - I am on this at the moment and yes, it can be tough to watch people around you eating but the weight is coming off fast, and i actually feel better than i have for a long time. I guess whether its right for you depends on what you're tyring to do. I've been on and off diets for so long that I can't think of one I haven't tried. LighterLife definitely works the fastest and its easy - so that's my choice right now and I'm happy with my decision.
Comment by Lindy on September 10 17:05