For many women with lipodoema, the diagnosis comes after years of being told the same thing: eat less, more more. The problem is that the fat accumulating around their hips and legs isn’t responding to diet or exercise, because it was never caused by them in the first place.

Lipoedema is a long-term condition that affects the way fat is stored in the body. It mainly affects women and usually develops or worsens at times of hormonal change, such as puberty, pregnancy or menopause. The link with these life stages is one reason researchers think hormones may play a role, although the exact cause is still not fully understood.

Lipoedema may also run in families, which suggests that genetic factors could be involved.

It usually appears as a symmetrical build-up of fatty tissue around the hips, buttocks and legs. In some people, it also affects the arms. The upper body may remain much smaller, which can make the body look noticeably out of proportion. A common feature is that the hands and feet are usually unaffected, so there may be a clear difference between the affected limbs and the unaffected hands or feet.

Lipoedema is often mistaken for general weight gain, obesity or lymphoedema. Lymphoedema is swelling caused by a build-up of fluid when the lymphatic system is not draining properly.

Lipoedema primarily involves abnormal fat distribution. This is why the name can be confusing: although “oedema” usually refers to fluid swelling, lipoedema is not caused by fluid build-up. Some people may develop swelling or lymphatic problems alongside lipoedema, particularly in very advanced cases, but these are not the defining feature.

Misunderstanding lipoedema can delay diagnosis and leave people feeling blamed for symptoms that are not simply a result of lifestyle. Many people with lipoedema describe pain, tenderness, heaviness in the affected areas and a tendency to bruise easily. In more severe cases, the size and weight of the affected limbs can make walking, exercising and everyday movement more difficult.

Lipoedema can also overlap with obesity. Someone can have lipoedema and obesity at the same time, which can make diagnosis and treatment more complicated. Obesity may increase strain on the body, worsen mobility and overload the lymphatic system. Where lipoedema is advanced, especially if body weight is also very high, this can contribute to secondary lymphoedema.

Because lipoedema is not a fluid condition, treatments designed for lymphoedema may not have the same effect. Manual lymphatic drainage is a specialist massage technique intended to encourage fluid to move through the lymphatic system, but evidence for its usefulness in lipoedema itself remains limited.

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Lipoedema is usually diagnosed through a person’s medical history and a physical examination. There is no single blood test or scan that can confirm it. A healthcare professional will look for typical signs, such as symmetrical fat distribution, tenderness, easy bruising and the sparing of the hands and feet.

They may also use a simple clinical check called Stemmer’s sign. This involves trying to pinch and lift the skin at the base of a toe or finger. If the skin cannot be lifted easily, this can suggest lymphoedema. In lipoedema, Stemmer’s sign is negative, meaning the skin can still be pinched.

Myths and management

There are still myths around lipoedema, partly because research is developing and because the condition has historically been under-recognised.

One common claim is that lipoedema fat never responds to diet or exercise. The reality is more nuanced. Healthy eating, physical activity and weight management can still improve health, pain, mobility and quality of life, particularly for people who also have obesity. The aim should be to support strength, movement, comfort and long-term health, without encouraging crash dieting or blaming the patient.

Low-impact exercise can be particularly helpful. Walking, cycling and water-based exercise can support mobility without placing too much strain on painful joints or heavy limbs.

Compression garments also help some people by reducing heaviness, discomfort and swelling. These are close-fitting medical garments that apply controlled pressure to the affected area. Good skin care is important too. This includes keeping the skin clean and moisturised, drying carefully between skin folds and treating cuts promptly, especially if swelling or reduced mobility makes the skin more vulnerable to irritation or infection.

Lipoedema can affect a person’s emotional wellbeing and quality of life. This does not mean it directly causes mental health disorders. But living with chronic pain, changes in body shape, reduced mobility and repeated medical dismissal can take a toll.

People may feel self-conscious, frustrated or isolated, especially if they have spent years being told their symptoms are simply a matter of weight. Some research suggests that many patients diagnosed with lipoedema report significant psychological distress before lipoedema-related symptoms begin. Psychological and social support is therefore an important part of care.

There is no cure for lipoedema, but symptoms can be managed. The best approach is usually holistic, meaning it looks at the whole person rather than treating one symptom in isolation. This may include movement, compression, pain management, weight support where appropriate, skin care and emotional support.

In some cases, surgery may be considered. Special liposuction techniques, designed to be gentler on the lymphatic system, may reduce pain and improve mobility for some people, although the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence notes that evidence is still developing.

For people with severe obesity, bariatric surgery, an umbrella term for procedures that modify the digestive system to help people lose weight, may also improve symptoms and daily functioning.

Because knowledge about lipoedema varies, it is important to seek advice from healthcare professionals who understand the condition. Organisations such as The International Lipoedema Association provide further information and support.

Good care should recognise both the physical symptoms and the emotional impact, without reducing lipoedema to either a cosmetic concern or a simple weight issue. Better recognition can help people get support earlier, manage symptoms more effectively and move away from years of confusion, blame and delayed care.

The petition was launched in Malton Market Place and online on Saturday by parents Caroline Garrod and Stuart Moss, alongside Cllr Keane Duncan.

Campaigners say the “phenomenal response” shows the strength of feeling across Ryedale, with residents urging North Yorkshire Council to protect the specialist facility for disabled adults with complex needs.

Families say the threatened centre, based in Old Malton Road, is a “lifeline” that offers safety, routine, trusted support, dignity and vital respite.

The petition follows an 11th-hour reprieve last month when North Yorkshire Council postponed its planned decision to close the centre after Cllr Duncan and families challenged the lack of consultation.

Cllr Duncan said the original approach had caused families “unimaginable hell”.

The council is now consulting on Cauwood’s future, but campaigners say they remain deeply concerned as they urge as many people as possible to sign the petition and respond to the consultation.

Cllr Duncan said: “The response to this petition has been phenomenal. More than 500 people have signed in just three days, and that number is growing quickly.

“This shows the strength of feeling not just in Malton, but across Ryedale and beyond. People understand that Cauwood is a vital facility that must be protected for current users and future generations.

“North Yorkshire Council initially planned to close this centre without any consultation whatsoever. We believed that was a deeply flawed, unfair and potentially unlawful approach.

“While we ultimately secured a welcome reprieve, the fight to save Cauwood is far from over.

“Parents have vowed to fight with their last breath to protect this centre, and I am supporting them every step of the way.”

Stuart Moss, dad of Matty Moss, said the petition response from local people had given families renewed determination: “Everyone has been so incredibly positive. As soon as we mention Cauwood, people instantly know about our fight.

“They say it is unthinkable that the council could consider closing such an important place, and that it needs to be stopped. There was no hesitation at all – everyone wanted to sign.

“Matty was excited every single time and gave his thumbs up. That really says everything. Cauwood means the world to him. It is a place where he is safe, happy and understood.

“Families like ours are not going to quietly accept this. We will fight on because our loved ones deserve the best.

“This campaign is growing by the day. We will keep going until North Yorkshire Council listens.”

Caroline Garrod said: “Cauwood gives people like my daughter Natasha the chance to spend time in a safe and supportive environment.

“The message from people across Ryedale is clear: we must save Cauwood.

“Thank you to everyone who has already supported our fight. Every signature makes our campaign stronger and shows the council just how much Cauwood matters.

“We will not give up on Cauwood or on the people who need it.”

Residents can sign the petition here: https://form.jotform.com/cllrkeaneduncan/save-cauwood

Residents can also respond to North Yorkshire Council’s consultation here: https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/your-council/consultations-and-engagement/current-consultations/cauwood-day-service

The NHS has urged people to see thier GP if you are worried

If you are randomly getting stomach pains, it’s normal to be worried. Many people will Google their symptoms, and of course, the worst health issues will come up, making people panic even more.

But there’s a little-known, completely benign issue that could be causing stomach pain. For example, the NHS says that it could be vitamins and minerals at play.

It notes that Vitamin C is just one tablet that could cause stomach pain if you take too much. Also known as ascorbic acid, it can be found in many everyday foods, with good sources including oranges, peppers, strawberries, blackcurrants, broccoli, brussels sprouts and potatoes.

If you’re getting enough in your diet, you may not need supplements. But if you do consume them, the NHS says that “adults aged 19 to 64 need 40mg of vitamin C a day.”

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It warns: “Vitamin C cannot be stored in the body, so you need it in your diet every day.” But if you take too much, more than 1,000mg per day, it can cause:

• stomach pain
• diarrhoea
• flatulence

It adds: “These symptoms should disappear once you stop taking vitamin C supplements.” Vitamin C is not the only supplement that could cause stomach issues.

The health service also notes that calcium, potassium, copper, and molybdenum can cause stomach pain. If you take iron, it also notes that side effects of taking high doses (over 20mg) of iron include:

• constipation
• feeling sick
• being sick
• stomach pain

It warns: “Very high doses of iron can be fatal, particularly if taken by children, so always keep iron supplements out of the reach of children.”

I have stomach pain, but I am not taking any supplements. What could be causing my pain?

If you have pain anywhere in your body, even if you are taking supplements, you should always talk to your GP to be on the safe side. You should never assume supplements are causing the issue.

The NHS suggests that stomach pain could be caused by a number of reasons, such as flatulence, food poisoning, indigestion, and constipation. Other conditions that can cause stomach pain include endometriosis, adenoymyosis, IBS, appendicitis, gallstones and kidney stones.

Experts at Cancer Research UK further note that stomach pain could be a sign of cancer. The most common symptoms of stomach cancer include:

• difficulty swallowing (dysphagia)
• unexplained weight loss
• tummy pain
• indigestion (dyspepsia) that doesn’t go away
• feeling full after eating small amounts
• a loss of appetite
• feeling or being sick
• dark poo
• tiredness due to low levels of red blood cells (anaemia)

You can read the NHS advice on stomach ache here, where it lists when to see your GP and when you should call 111 or 999.

Botanic Avenue prosecution follows one for Lisburn Road cafe earlier this month

A second cafe in a month has been fined in Belfast for allowing hookah smoking on its premises.

The owner of Sahara Shisha, a café on Botanic Avenue, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a failure to prevent people smoking shisha within his premises.

Mr Mesut Savcun was fined a total of £1350 plus costs of £79 for breaching smoke-free legislation under The Smoking (Northern Ireland) Order 2006.

Belfast City Council brought the prosecution following repeated visits to the cafe by Tobacco Control Officers. On five occasions, officers witnessed people smoking shisha within the enclosed premises.

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Earlier in May, the owners of Lova Coffee, a Middle Eastern café on the Lisburn Road in Belfast, were also fined for breaching smoke-free legislation under The Smoking (Northern Ireland) Order 2006.

Mayar Coffee Limited, registered at 133 Lisburn Road, were fined a total of £1100 plus costs of £128 at Belfast Magistrates Court on May 5 after pleading guilty to the charge of failure to prevent people smoking shisha within their premises.

Shisha is a form of flavoured tobacco heated by charcoal and smoked through a water pipe or hookah. Originating in the Middle East, it is a popular social activity involving a bowl, hose, and water-filled base that cools the smoke before inhalation. It is covered by smoking legislation and is allowed in areas which are open air, or in which at least 50 percent of the building or structure is permanently open.

A spokesperson for Belfast City Council said, “Under The Smoking (Northern Ireland) Order 2006, it is against the law to smoke in enclosed and substantially enclosed workplaces and in public places such as bars and offices, as well as work vehicles and public transport.”

“This legislation was introduced to protect workers and the public from exposure to second-hand smoke. It is enforced across the city by our Tobacco Control Officers, who seek to support businesses to operate good practice and to comply with the law. However, we will take action against illegal practice which puts people at risk.”

The council said: “The Belfast Agenda lays out Belfast City Council’s vision for all residents to experience improved health and wellbeing by 2035. Affirmative action to reduce smoking, and the danger of second-hand smoke inhalation, feeds into this strategy, and helps to create a healthier Belfast for everyone. Our Tobacco Control work is supported by the Public Health Agency and the Department of Health.”

Also on Tuesday, in a second prosecution success for the council, landlord Patrick Brady was fined £250 for illegally evicting a tenant from his rented accommodation. He was also ordered to pay £78 costs at Belfast Magistrates’ Court after unlawfully evicting his tenant from accommodation at Oranmore Street, West Belfast.

Local councils can investigate complaints about landlord harassment or illegal eviction of tenants and have powers to prosecute landlords for these offences.

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

Arsenal are crowned champions of the Premier League for the first time in 22 years after Manchester City are held to a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth, a result which secures European football for the home side for the first time in their history.

MATCH REPORT: Bournemouth 1 – 1 Manchester City

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The work is likely to cause delays

Overnight roadworks along a Cambridgeshire street are set to cause nearly four weeks of disruption for motorists. The roadworks will take place on Norwich Road in Wisbech from May 18 between the hours of 8pm and 6am.

The road will be closed to all motor vehicles so that resurfacing works can be carried out. The work is set to be completed by June 13. According to Cambridgeshire County Council’s notice of the closure, the roadworks are ‘likely’ to cause delays.

Motorists are advised to follow diversion routes and allow extra time for journeys during the closure period. Drivers are advised to take a diversion route via Lynn Road that takes you through to Churchill Road, according to traffic monitoring system one.network.

A spokesperson for Cambridgeshire County Council’s Traffic Management Centre said: “Norwich Road, Wisbech will be closed to all motor vehicles from the 18th May until the 13th June between the hours of 8pm and 6am nightly for works.”

For Arsenal fans, it has been a very, very long wait to celebrate winning the Premier League again. So they made sure Tuesday was a special night.

Supporters had gathered outside Emirates Stadium and nearby pubs while rivals Manchester City played Bournemouth, needing a win to keep the title race alive.

In the end, Pep Guardiola’s side could only draw – confirming Arsenal as champions for the first time in 22 years.

As the full-time whistle went on the south coast, there was an explosion of cheer in pubs across north London as Arsenal fans celebrated a moment they felt, after recent title near misses, might never come.

There were celebrations also at the Gunners’ training ground.

That is where the Arsenal squad had gathered for the evening and, much as in the pubs, the final whistle was greeted by huge celebrations. layers and staff danced and hugged while chanting: “Campeones, Campeones, Ole Ole Ole!”

Last month, Arsenal captain Declan Rice was seen insisting “it’s not done” after the Gunners lost to Manchester City. But on Tuesday, with the title race decided, he posted a picture on social media of players celebrating, captioned: “It’s done.”

The title win came in Mikel Arteta’s seventh year in charge, and underlined just what can be achieved if a manager is given time.

“Mikel Arteta’s been there a long period of time. The best gift you can give a good manager is time,” former Premier League goalkeeper Paul Robinson told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“Yes you can give them hundreds of millions of pounds but you have to mould that money into a team, into a dressing room, a winning side.

“You give a good manager time? There’s the proof.”

Good sex on the screen seems to be having a moment. Steamy gay ice hockey romance Heated Rivalry made stars of its unknown leads Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie. The most recent season of Bridgerton – in which the titular family’s son and their lady’s maid fall passionately in love (and into bed) – garnered 39.7 million views in four days.

The final season of Outlander is currently airing, enduringly popular more than a decade after its episode The Wedding was heralded as a game-changer for representations of explicit, woman-centred sex on television.

These three shows have something in common: they are all adapted from romantic fiction written by women – Rachel Reid, Julia Quinn and Diana Gabaldon, respectively.

They have also all been credited as examples of shows that, like the romance novels they are inspired by, prioritise the female gaze in their depictions of sex. The Guardian has described this as “storytelling that highlights the meandering, textured, sublimely messy inner worlds and wants of women” (even when, as in the case of Heated Rivalry, women are not actually partaking in the on-screen sex).

The second season of Rivals, now streaming on Disney+, is also adapted from a romantic novel by a female author: the 1988 book of the same name by the late Dame Jilly Cooper. Season 1, first broadcast in 2024, was critically acclaimed, and became Disney’s most successful drama of 2024.

Sex and the bonkbuster

Cooper was particularly famous for writing “bonkbusters”: a form commonly associated with the 1980s, described pithily by comedy writer and author Sue Limb as “a big, thick book with lots of bonking in it”.

Sex is central to the bonkbuster, which glories in wild, over-the-top sex scenes. More than half of Rivals’ 52 chapters describe sex between characters – and many of these sex scenes have made it onto the screen.

These range from the tender – such as the first time between Freddie Jones (Danny Dyer) and Lizzie Vereker (Katherine Parkinson), in which he declares her body “an area of outstanding natural beauty” – to the ridiculous. One of our earliest encounters with protagonist and Conservative MP Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell) is via him playing a naked tennis match with fellow MP’s wife Sarah Stratton (Emily Atack).

Notably, not all – not even most – of the sex scenes in Rivals occur in the service of a romantic plot, which sets it apart from shows like Heated Rivalry and Bridgerton. This reflects the difference in genre between the source texts: while bonkbusters have a lot in common with romance novels – including, but not limited to, their predominantly female readership – they are not quite the same thing.

However, for many readers, the depictions of sex in bonkbusters felt as groundbreaking in the 1980s as the sex depicted in these lauded screen adaptations of romantic novels.

Sex education and female pleasure

In 2022-24, we spoke to dozens of people who read books like Rivals in the 1980s, while conducting research for our recent book The Bonkbuster.

A key takeaway for many was bonkbusters’ role as supplementary sex education. For example, one of our participants appreciated the comparative sexual progressiveness of Rivals, which contrasted with her memory of a 1986 biology textbook “which showed the female reproductive organs but did not point out the clitoris”.

By representing sex on the page, books like Rivals filled a silence about sex in these readers’ lives. One of the most remarked-upon aspects of bonkbusters by those we spoke to was not just the explicit sex, but that the sex depicted was overwhelmingly positive for the women involved – and it was men who had to work at it.

For example, when Rupert and Cameron (Nafessa Williams) have sex for the first time, she “ordered him around like a sergeant-major”. This is reflected in the TV adaptation, where, when Cameron demands more clitoral stimulation, Rupert’s reply – taken directly from the book – is to say “I am, after all, a member of the Cli-Tory Party,” and obliges.

While Rupert is sleeping with Cameron under sinister pretences (corporate espionage), she still benefits in short-term sexual pleasure. Good sex in the bonkbuster tends to happen because men are willing to put in an effort to make it good for women.

Sex adaptation – nostalgia v discomfort

However, bonkbuster sex is not always pleasurable, and Cooper has an eye for the unsexy, darker side of the 1980s. Many such details have been included in the TV adaptation. For example, several female characters in Rivals are assaulted, but in the first season, none of the male perpetrators are held accountable – something which many of our readers also found disquieting in the book.

The TV adaptation, though, has taken the opportunity to redress some of the imbalances from the original text.

In the novel, Cameron requires stitches after being badly beaten by Tony (David Tennant). But in the TV adaptation finale of season one, it is Cameron who strikes Tony. The first season ends unclear as to whether Tony is alive or dead (although Tennant’s presence in the trailer for season two is a bit of a giveaway).

And while Cooper’s novel mentions HIV/AIDS in passing, the TV adaptation places more emphasis on the discrimination against gay men at the time, and introduces a new relationship between two gay characters – Charles (Gary Lamont) and Gerald (Hubert Burton).

The second season has taken this even further. Even Rupert – who got away with everything short of murder in Cooper’s books – has to face the consequences of his past bad behaviour.

These changes are indicative of the different climate of 2026. While some aspects of the 1980s bonkbuster are clearly still important and pleasurable for readers and viewers – the nostalgia, the sex positivity – some things are best left in the 1980s.

Three gardens at the 2026 RHS Chelsea Flower Show have found themselves mired in controversy rather than the more usual mud.

This year’s show gardens include one designed by Matt Keightley, who has used Spacelift, a design app he developed that incorporates AI. Advocates of such tools praise their potential to democratise garden design and make it more accessible. Critics, however, argue that these technologies risk reproducing or appropriating existing designs, and could ultimately threaten the livelihoods of professional garden designers.

Happily, gardening is an ancient practice and has long been managed and enjoyed without the use of technology. Here are six tech-free lessons from history to help you get started designing your garden without turning to AI.

1. Get back to books

Not sure where to start? A book is still one of the richest sources of guidance, and the history of gardening bestsellers offers a revealing window into changing tastes, practices and traditions.

This list of the 20 most popular titles for American public libraries suggests that food growing, biodiversity and design are key interests for budding gardeners.

And it’s not just books from today that have something to offer. I’d recommend travelling back to the 17th century with diarist and polymath John Evelyn. His Elysium Britannicum, written in the 1650s, records a deep fascination with nature and design, showing that ingenuity and gardening have long gone hand in hand.

2. Go for a walk and imagine what is possible

The landscape painter and designer William Kent is said to have “leapt the fence and [seen] that all nature was a garden”. This moment is often taken to mark the shift away from the formal aristocratic gardens of the 17th century towards a more naturalistic style.

This philosophical turn helped shape the development of the English landscape garden, but it can also speak to the present moment, when we are being encouraged to make our own gardens – most of which are not landscape-scale – more welcoming to nature.

One of the simplest ways to begin is to look closely at your surroundings: explore your neighbourhood, observe what thrives and take note of what you like and what works well.

3. Consult the genius loci and start with the bones

Cartoonist Osbert Lancaster and his wife Anne Scott-James lightly ribbed 20th-century suburban gardens in their 1977 book The Pleasure Garden: An Illustrated History of British Gardening. Post-second world war urbanisation gave many more people the opportunity to have their own gardens, reflected in a kind of “consistent inconsistency” of patios, lawns, borders and vegetable plots.

The eclecticism they observed can instead be read as an invitation to consult the genius loci – the “spirit of the place” – and to engage with the features and atmosphere that give a garden its character, rather than treating it as a blank slate.

Indeed, in her 1971 book Down to Earth, Anne Scott-James recognised that most gardeners do not have perfect sites. Working with “the bones” of a garden, she argued, is therefore essential, achieved through creating harmony within the broader context.

4. Follow the rules and put things in perspective

There are plenty of principles and approaches that can be applied to garden design, from formal symmetry and a carefully chosen material palette to planting styles that range from sculpted topiary to naturalistic meadow.

Beginning with an aspiration can help to focus these choices, and looking at what has constituted garden design through the ages through the ages can be a useful way of anchoring your own vision.

5. Visit gardens

In 2027 the National Garden Scheme will be 100 years old. It represents a wonderful continuum of curiosity and conviviality as members of the public gain access to otherwise private gardens.

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The scheme was set up by Elsie Wagg, a council member of the Queen’s Nursing Institute and has subsequently evolved into an organisation that funds a range of health charities.

Being able to see what other gardeners have achieved – and the effort that has gone into making those spaces – is one of the most effective tech-free ways of learning. Taking a camera or sketchbook can be a simple way to observe more closely and carry those ideas back into your own garden.

6. Gardening is technology

When economic historian Roderick Floud turned his attention to the history of gardening in An Economic History of the English Garden (2019), he revealed the scale and long-term economic impact of the sector.

Did you know that many innovations in central heating, water engineering and glasshouse construction have their roots in gardens? It’s a point many people may not be aware of, making it a useful story to share when showing visitors around your dahlias – while also quietly recognising that technology has always been embedded in gardening, even when we don’t immediately see it.

What’s your favourite gardening tip from history? Let us know in the comments below.

This article features references to books that have been included for editorial reasons, and may contain links to bookshop.org. If you click on one of the links and go on to buy something, The Conversation UK may earn a commission.