Mother’s death after Irn Bru and Wotsit diet
Organ failure from eating only junk food
A MOTHER died after suffering from an eating disorder which meant she spent years on a diet of party food, an inquest heard yesterday.
charlotte Broad fell ill with malnutrition after eating only crisps and snacks.
even while pregnant the 32-yearold only consumed ‘ Irn Bru and Wotsits’, a coroner was told, and in her last years she had an ‘ambivalence to life’.
Her heartbroken partner of ten years Mark Darley told Winchester coroners court: ‘She ate cheese and onion crisps, poppadoms and prawn crackers and that was it. She never ate anything else.’
He added that he did not know the cause of her eating disorder but said she was called ‘fatty’ at school. Miss Broad – a mother of two – was admit ted to the Royal Hampshire county Hospital on January 3 2019 after being bed bound for nearly six weeks. She was taken to A&e after her partner finally managed to convince her to seek treatment.
But, when in hospital she repeatedly refused food and would not even receive nutrition via a drip. When doctors asked her if she understood what was going to happen if she didn’t eat she responded ‘I’m probably going to die’. She passed away nearly two weeks after her hospital admission on January 18.
The court heard Miss Broad had suffered a miscarriage at 33 weeks in 2007 and was diagnosed as having depression the following year. She was also diagnosed as having an eating disorder which may have developed from anxiety over nausea which arose from severe morning sickness during pregnancy.
Although she had two successful pregnancies in 2008 and 2013 she continued to struggle with her eating.
Her brother, James, told the hearing: ‘She always ate strangely from a young age. She would have chicken nuggets and chips every day. By the time I left home she was still just eating chicken nuggets and chips but never any vegetables.
‘I do believe she should have been sectioned for her mental health.’
He added: ‘What charlotte was eating was not what she was feeding her children, it was the polar opposite.’ Acting area coroner Samantha Marsh said: ‘everyone is in agreement that her diet was incredibly poor, it was almost kids’ party food. All of the health problems she was experiencing were secondary to the malnutrition.
‘There were multiple attempts by mental health to engage with her. She declined all of those services. I’m satisfied charlotte understood that by not eating, she knew what would happen.’
Mrs Marsh did not give a conclusion of suicide saying Miss Broad did not ‘have intention to take her own life, she had ambivalence to living’.
Giving a narrative conclusion, she said: ‘charlotte died from malnutrition that was caused by the intentional refusal to take enough food and drink which led to multiple organ failure.’
‘I’m probably going to die’