A MALVERN teenager has spoken of the struggles caused by a rare genetic condition that sees her weigh 28 stone despite eating a healthy diet.

Sixteen-year-old Sophie Harris, of Michael Crescent, weighs three times as much as her twin brother Shane despite shunning all snacks and eating just three normal meals a day.

Doctors have spent years trying to find out how the twins could be so different, but the cause of Sophie’s size remained a mystery.

That was until a couple of months ago, when scientists at Cambridge University’s institute of metabolic science discovered Sophie was suffering from the rare melancortin 4 receptor (MCR4) gene deficiency.

This means everything Sophie eats is stored as fat, making it impossible for her to shed any weight no matter how much she exercises or restricts her diet.

At present there is no cure for the condition, although new drugs are being trialled in America.

*Read the full story in this week's Malvern Gazette.