'I used fake AI pictures to get my 13-year-old daughter Mounjaro'

A mum has made the shock confession that she lied and used AI photos in order to get her 13-year-old daughter weight loss injections.

*Emma, 43, claims she has tried everything to daughter *Hayley's weight down. At 5ft 4in and 80kg, Hayley is obese according to the NHS BMI calculator. But with a BMI of 30.3, she doesn't qualify on the NHS for the weight loss injections – which is why Emma decided to get her Mounjaro jabs through deception.

"I used AI to generate a picture of me overweight," Emma, a teaching assistant from Plymouth, told Metro. "I know it was dishonest but I'm not the first person making things up a little bit to get the jabs and I won't be the last one either.

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"I do think it should be easier to get these for children and young people, it's not fair that they're off limits legally when the impact of being overweight is so vast on a young person's self esteem."

According to Emma, the family doctor advised diet and exercise, but she says Hayley's weight didn't change and she started to feel "miserable about her size compared to her friends".

Ever since she started taking the weight loss injections, Hayley has lost a stone, her mum says. But the jabs are being kept a secret from the extended family and Hayley's friends.

The teen told the publication: "It was my idea and I asked Mum if we could look into it. I was a bit worried about being injected and I couldn't do it myself but I love the fact I’m losing weight. My friends have all noticed and are complimenting me on it which feels really nice."

But, of course, Emma's actions have been widely criticised by health professionals. Not only should all medical interventions be closely monitored on a case-by-case basis by doctors, it could prove deeply harmful to a child's mental health.

Psychologist Dr Carolyne Keenan notes the fact that children are still developing physically and emotionally, and that introducing weight loss injections at such a formative age could inadvertently reinforce harmful beliefs about food and body image. This in turn could lead to long-term issues with self-esteem and disordered eating patterns.

It comes after a mother says she was left with severe side effects after going Mounjaro and claims the medication has "ruined" her life.

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Zari, who was a size 18 to 20 before using the jab, was able to shift four stone thanks to the use of the popular injections - but it hasn't been without its side effects. The content creator, who shared her experience on TikTok, said she's "in and out" of hospital constantly after ditching the drug.

After undergoing blood tests in an attempt to find out what's causing her unbearable pain, doctors are said to have put it down to gastritis - inflammation of the stomach lining. Zari admitted she "hated" the way she looked before using the jabs, but says the drug has "ruined a part of me".

She said: "I look trash because I'm tired from the pain the whole night - Mounjaro has given me gastritis and I'm gonna be honest with you, that is a killer. It's been two months, I've been going in and out of hospitals, getting drips and everything.

"When [the pain] comes, it is so bad. If I eat anything, if I don't eat anything, whatever it is, it affects my day to day life."