The World's Thinnest woman

Lizzie Velasquez was once cruelly called the
'World's Ugliest Woman' but now she's starting
an inspirational tour to spread a positive message
against bullying.
Lizzie is just four stone and has almost zero per
cent body fat but her appearance is due to a
genetic condition which means she cannot put
on weight.
When she was born, Lizzie's parents were told
she might not survive, but she has finished
university with a communications degree and is
now starting a career as a motivational speaker.
The 24-year-old has Neonatal Progeroid
Syndrome which causes premature ageing, a
wrinkled appearance, and decreased fat under
the skin.
Lizzie's condition also means she cannot put on
any weight, and despite eating every 20 minutes
or so, and consuming thousands of calories a
day, she never tips the scales above 4.3 stone.
But now, scientists who have been studying
Lizzie for more than ten years believe they are
closing in on the gene that causes her condition,
which may one day lead to treatments and a
cure.
They believe Lizzie, who is the oldest person
living with NPS, is offering hope to other
sufferers and helping doctors understand how
people can survive well into adulthood.
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Lizzie, from Austin, Texas, who is bravely
spreading her survival story to help others,
explained: "I took a year out after university and
now I'm ready to start travelling to give talks in
different States.
"I receive so many requests but I have to be
careful so my schedule does not become too
busy."
Lizzie carefully manages her condition by eating
healthy meals regularly, taking rests every few
hours, and ensuring she has enough sleep.
If she works a whole day without constant
breaks she becomes tired, dizzy, and prone to
illnesses which can be serious because she is so
small and frail.
Lizzie is also regularly in plaster because of a
weak foot which fractures due to a lack of fat
and tissue whenever she walks on it too much.
New TLC International series Body Bizarre,
which starts on Monday, tells the story of Lizzie's
journey into adulthood and reveals the amazing
response she receives to her motivational talks.
"My parents raised me to be completely normal.
They never told me I was different. The only
thing they told me was that I was smaller than
the other kids but I was just like them," she tells
the audience.
"As I got older I started becoming more aware of
why people were staring at me and I got really
angry."
But she adds: "I would never tell my parents that
I was being bullied."
Lizzie also tells the story of how she discovered a
video of herself on You Tube at the age of just 15
which had been cruelly labelled 'The Most Ugly
Woman in the World'.
"I was at home online and I saw a picture that
looked really familiar. It says Most Ugly Woman
in the World, and that's me.
"The number on the bottom - 4,790,642 - is how
many views it had when I found it. I felt like
someone was literally putting their hand through
the computer screen and punching me over and
over."
Lizzie describes the cruel comments viewers had
made about the video, some of which even asked
her parents why they had not aborted her.
Amazingly, instead of causing the devastated
teenager to withdraw or hide away, it became
the defining moment which helped Lizzie decide
to become a speaker to help other bullying
victims.
She has already published two books 'Lizzie
Beautiful' about the story of her childhood and
'Be Beautiful, Be You' an advice book to help
young people deal with low self esteem and
abusive behaviour.
Now, as she sets off on a tour to meet teenagers
and adults across America, Lizzie reveals her
next ambition is to set up a business to prevent
bullying.
"My dreams for the future are I continue to help
others. I want to create an anti-bullying
company something to help kids and adults and
teenagers who are struggling and so far my
dreams have come true," she said.
Prof Abimanyu Garg, who has been studying
Lizzie and other NPS sufferers in the search for
the genetic cause, said: "Lizzie is one of the very
few people that are known to have this
condition.
"They have very little muscle mass, they are
limbs look very thin, spindly, and many of these
children they die very early in life.
"But Lizzie is 23 years old so she has beaten
those odds. I'm very pleased with her progress.
She has outstanding courage to face such a
severe developmental disorder and live her life
fully."
He explained that Lizzie is living proof that there
several different types of NPS syndrome and
provides knowledge to the scientific community
which will offer hope to others.
But despite the chances of a medical
breakthrough in the future and the possibility of
a treatment, Lizzie insists she is happy with her
appearance as it is.
She said: "I would never ever ever change my
appearance even if I could. It has taken me so
many years to accept who I am and like the
person I see in the mirror so I wouldn't change it
just to 'fit in'."