Twenty one year old Lizzie Velasquez from Austin, Texas is five foot two inches and weighs only 60 pounds, but she is not anorexic. In fact, she must eat at least every 15 minutes, a total of 5000 to 8000 calories each day, in order to stay alive and healthy.
Lizzie has an unknown medical condition which prevents her from being able to gain weight or store fat on her body. She wears a size triple zero clothes and weighs herself constantly. “I weigh myself regularly and if I gain even one pound I get really excited,” she stated. “I eat small portions of crisps, sweets, chocolate, pizza, chicken, cake, doughnuts, ice cream, noodles and pop tarts all day long, so I get pretty upset when people accuse me of being anorexic.” ”
If she does not eat every 15 minutes at least, she cannot keep her energy up. She was born weighing only 2 pounds and 10 ounces with hardly any amniotic fluid protecting her in her mother’s womb. Doctors are baffled how she even survived, according to her mother. They told us they had no idea how she could have survived. They kept on trying to figure out what was wrong with her but we treated her like any other child,” her mother, a church secretary added.
The doctors are not sure exactly what has caused Lizzie to have this rare condition, nor has she been diagnosed with any known illness. Her mother has documented her health throughout her life and is writing a book which is due out in September. Her doctors state, “Lizzie is lucky to have healthy teeth, organs and bones so the outlook is good. We will continue to study her case and learn from her.”
