Woman starved on soup and water diet

A young mother who lived on a diet of soup and water starved herself to death, an inquest heard today.

Helen Anderson, 26, was found dead in bed by her mother at her home in Shelley Avenue, Cleadon Park, South Shields, South Tyneside on April 6.

For several months before her death, the talented musician, who played violin, piano and guitar, and once auditioned for the Northern Sinfonia, existed on a diet of just water and soup.

She lost almost six stones in weight, despite her parents, Michael and Hazel Anderson, pleading with her to eat more.

Her body was so starved of sugar it began to eat into its own reserve of fat, the inquest in South Shields heard.

This caused a metabolic chemical reaction called ketoacidosis, which killed her.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, South Tyneside coroner Terence Carney said: "This phenomenon - this poison if you like - which developed within her body was made by her body itself.

"It arises as a result of the body reacting to a lack of sugar within itself and that was in part a consequence of the intensive diet with which Helen was attempting to balance her weight.

"The sad truth of the matter is there has been a development within her body, a natural phenomena, which has set up this poisoning of her body's system and has led to her death.

"It is a problem which can develop very rapidly and without the individual appreciating the consequences.

"I am totally certain that she had no intention to cause harm to herself."

Miss Anderson, who had a five-year-old daughter, Niamh-Kate, by a previous marriage had been dieting to lose weight she put on as a side effect to medication, the inquest heard.

Forensic pathologist Dr Stuart Hamilton said she had also been taking slimming tablets to speed up her weight loss, but these did not contribute to her death.

At 5ft 9in, the mother-of-one weighed 9st 2lb when she died, having been 15st, and was at the lower end of the Body Mass Index (BMI) scale.

She was due to become engaged to a Swedish man she met through the internet, Kristian Persson, and the couple were planning a big engagement party in Sweden, before tragedy struck.

A former pupil at Hebburn Comprehensive School and later a performing arts student at South Tyneside College, Miss Anderson completed a year of a music degree at Newcastle University, before dropping out.

She later worked in a series of shop and call centre jobs, but hadn't been employed for some time before her death.

Her parents, both 63, were too upset to speak following the inquest.

But her mother, of Elmfield Road, Hebburn, told the Shields Gazette in April: "We all begged Helen to eat.

"She seemed fine at Christmas, but after that, she just lived on water and cups of soup.

"She was always a big-boned girl, and I think her death could have been caused by anorexia.

"This should be a warning to other people about the dangers of eating disorders."