My mum is 70, obese, immobile with horrendous arthritis. I desperately want to help her. She literally can't wait, is short of breath and has a heart condition with circulation issues. I think her...

[mumsy23baby]

Weight is a problem. She's a size 24. It's catch 22 because she can't exercise because of her arthritic pain but the weight aren't helping any of her conditions.

She has tried hydrotherapy but she can only go to 1 or 2 30 min sessions a week. She has a fine diet. I think she has so much dead weight on her. Would liposuction or a tummy tuck or any other surgery help? Any other suggestions?
She's in good health otherwise but mentally this is all such a struggle for her - losing her mobility (she doesn't want a mobility scooter before you suggest it!)

She has arthritis and a heart condition. She needs medical advice from her GP about how to lose weight safely and healthily. The last thing she needs is weight loss tips from the internet or you trying to pressure her into surgery.

What exactly is dead weight fgs

You need to get her to the GP. If she is obese they will have options for her that she can follow free of charge.

My MIL was the same and she eventually had a life altering stroke in her 60s because her blood pressure was so high. It was all a direct result of her weight and poor diet. Before the stroke, she was offered a total food replacement free from the GP for 12 weeks. She was offered surgery, but had to lose a certain percentage of weight before the surgery.

In the kindest possible way her diet cannot be fine if she's size 24. Agree with pp that the GP can advise best based on her overall health. Tummy tucks and liposuction are not what is needed here. Once she has a viable plan your support will really help her.

I don’t think this is a case for removing fat via a tummy tuck.
Her diet can’t possibly be good if she is maintaining a size 24. Exercise is great but it’s what you eat that will make you lose / gain weight, not how much excercise you can or can’t do.
Unless you are with her 24/7 how can you be sure of what she is eating?

If she's maintaining a size 24 dress size, her diet isn't fine.

Her diet might be OK but if she isn't moving much, then she's still eating more than she's burning off. Would she be able to do something like swimming?

With respect, if her general health is poor, she is unlikely to be accepted for surgery anyway due to the risk she might die under anaesthetic. Someone who is elderly, obese and immobile is going to be a poor risk for surgery and face at best a complicated recovery with serious risk of infection, clots, etc.

She has to change her diet.

Lipo and a tummy tuck are cosmetic procedures, they're not going to produce significant weight loss. There are bariatric surgeries, but your mum would need to show significant efforts to lose weight before she was considered. She needs to see her GP to find out what options are available in her area, that might be a slimming group referral or a dietitian.

The general mantra that weight loss isn't about exercise has some truth, but there's no doubt that someone who is almost completely immobile will have a far lower TDEE than someone who walks around a normal amount. Her maintenance TDEE is probably significantly less than 2,000 calories, so her diet might look perfectly healthy by an average persons standards. A immobile seventy year old woman, depending on her height, is probably going to have a horrifyingly low target calorie intake if she wants to lose weight.

Dead weight isn't a thing - her diet can't be fine if she's a size 24. What she tells you her diet is like, and what you see her eating, are probably not the whole story. She needs to address her diet first, but in the meantime any movement is better than none.

I don't think there's any reason to doubt the OP's opinion of her mums diet. She may well be eating a perfectly "normal" 1,750 calorie diet made up of real food that looks absolutely fine to the (younger, more active) OP, and not binge eating packets of hob nobs in secret. The problem is that if you're 70 years old and completely sedentary then 1,750 calories is much too much.

Surgery isn’t the answer, she wouldn’t be accepted anyway. She needs proper medical advice and help. If she is very sedentary then a normal amount of food will be too much, and I wonder also if she uses food as comfort or distraction? Is there any exercise she can do, even a 5 minute walk? Walking in a pool can be really good for those with joint troubles, the water gives support but also a little resistance. Don’t underestimate just how helpful even a little movement can be to someone with such restricted mobility. Wishing your mother well.

If you can bear it, you need the "cruel to be kind" approach and remove all unhealthy foods from her reach.

She may need as little as 700/800 calories a day but it's one for her GP/practice nurse.