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Lizzie, Velasquez, a 21-year-old woman in Texas is battling a very peculiar disease that has her eating at least a small snack every 15 minutes.

The college student has a condition that is so rare, there are only three known cases in the world. It prevents her from gaining weight even though she eats up to 60 small meals a day.

“I weigh myself regularly and if I gain even one pound I get really excited,” Lizzie said in an interview. “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.”

Lizzie who was born prematurely at just 2lbs 10oz, wasn’t expected to survive past her first few days in the world, doctors told her mother.

“We had to buy dolls’ clothes from the toy store because baby clothes were too big.” Lizzie’s mother Rita recalls. ‘”They told us she would never be able to walk, talk or have a normal life.”

But Lizzie has beaten the odds and doesn’t take medication but she relies on vitamin supplements and iron to stay healthy. It is thought she should be able to conceive naturally without passing the condition to her children.

Although she has beaten the odds, her case has fascinated doctors all over the world and she is part of a genetic study run by Professor Abhimanyu Garg, M.D. at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

Professor Garg and his team now believe Lizzie may have a form of Neonatal Progeroid Syndrome (NPS) which causes accelerated ageing, fat loss from the face and body, and tissue degeneration. People with PRS often have triangular and prematurely aged faces with a pointy nose.

Currently there is no cure but her doctors predict if Lizzie keeps eating she has a bright future ahead of her.

Lizzie, who is currently attending Texas State University, hopes to become a motivational speaker when she graduates.

“I want to make a positive difference in people’s lives and show them that you can get through most hardships if you are strong,” Lizzie said. “Positive and have a sense of humor.”

Lizzie has also co-authored a book about her incredible experiences that will be released this Fall on Amazon.