Wed, 5 April 2017
Lisa (33) lives with her mum Jackie (55), stepfather Richard (56) and her daughter Maisie Belle (2). They all live together in their family house in Swords, Co. Dublin.
Dad Richard works as an engineer for ESB, mum Jackie minds the house and daughter Jackie works as a childminder.
Mum, dad and daughter Lisa all eat at different times and never sit down to a family dinner. All have unhealthy eating habits: Mum has a weakness for pizza and chips, Lisa loves sandwiches with crisps and Richard’s downfall is ice cream and chocolate.
Both Richard and Jackie are on cholesterol tablets, and Jackie is also on aspirin (to control her heart condition), blood pressure tablets and she also has acid reflux. An ex-smoker, Jackie tries to walk a few times a week and has lost count of the amount of diets she’s started – and not finished.
Richard’s health worries include psoriasis and hernias. He has a trapped nerve in his spine, something that he has had since he was 20. His dad died at 63 from stomach cancer, and his mum is still alive at 80 (despite having a heart attack recently). He has put on quite a bit of weight and is concerned that stress and weight (19 stone) may cause issues for his heart. His weight gain has stopped him from going to any social things, so largely stays at home now when he’s not at work.
As well as minding children, Lisa is trying to set up her own business making cakes – something she generally does this when everyone is asleep at night. Lisa sometimes suffers from low self esteem and admits that when she feels anxious, she literally starts pulling her hair out. She is very keen to get healthy so that she can teach her little girl Maisie Belle a healthy lifestyle.
After a week of being tested and followed, the family are brought to the Consultation Room. Richie finds out that he is insulin resistant, in category 2 for obesity, and also that the has non alcoholic fatty liver disease. Not only that, but his tests in DCU showed some irregularity in his heart pattern, so the doctors refer him on for further analysis. Jackie finds out whether her years of smoking have done damage to her lungs, and also the effect of her fatty diet on her cholesterol – and like husband Richie, Jackie’s weight also classifies her in the obese category.
The family return to put their exercise and diet plan into place. Will they succeed? And what difference will it make to their long term health? They find out eight weeks later.
Tune into Doctor In The House this Wednesday on TV3 at 8pm to see if Lisa, Jackie and Richard make any progress in their eight week path to a healthier, better quality of life.
Series 3 of Doctor In The House is available to watch on-demand on 3player.
