Naturally thin: Dream come true or curse?; THE MAJORITY OF BRITISH

0 Comments | Sunday Mirror, Aug 22, 1999 | by Denna Allen

Danny Shergold

5ft 6ins and 7 stone

Danny, 34, lives in Walthamstow, East London, with her 10-month- old daughter, Misty May.

Typical daily diet Breakfast: Two slices of toast, orange juice, tea. Lunch: Jumbo roll, crisps, orange juice. Dinner: Pasta, wine. Snacks: Cookies, chocolate.

I'll never forget hearing that my dance teacher had told my mum she was worried about my size and asked if I was anorexic.

I was only 12, but I knew what it meant and I was horrified people thought that I was in some way responsible for being so skinny.

My thinness was emphasised because I was so tall for my age. I towered over my best friend and when the other girls started developing curves, my body stayed straight and flat.

At first I couldn't understand why I was so thin. Like a lot of children I was a fussy eater, I didn't like spicy foods. I liked plain food, but I also stuffed my face with crisps and Kit-Kats.

The boys at school called me "Dipstick" and I remember the first proper party I went to and how the other girls paired off with the boys and I was left alone.

When the fashion was to wear drainpipe trousers, I used to put a pair of tights and leg warmers on under mine so my legs didn't look like two pipe cleaners.

It used to really upset me that I was so skinny. I'd cry about it and wish I could be normal. But my mum used to say I was beautiful and that other girls were jealous.

I was so sick of hearing, "God, you're so thin! Don't you eat?"

It's always been a bugbear of mine that thin people are public property. If you're fat nobody says, "You're huge! You must eat loads!"

My size has affected the way a lot of people view me. In the past I was seen as a fragile little thing, the sort of girl who is afraid of thunder and lightning.

When my friends talk about diets it can be awkward for me to join in. But I usually say something like: "What a shame we can't scrape a bit off your thighs and stick it on my tummy!" I've found it's better to make a joke at my expense.

I've got skinny monkey arms, but I don't worry about them anymore and I wear tight T-shirts because I like them.

My dream is to have a fat donation layered on to my bosom, arms, calves and bum and to put on half a stone.

Melanie Nevitt

5ft 8ins and 71/2 stone

Melanie 27, lives in Addlestone, Surrey, with her husband Paul, 29, and their children Stephanie, six, and Adam, five.

Typical daily diet Breakfast: Cereal, four slices of toast, tea. Lunch: Sandwich, crisps, cheesecake, Coke. Dinner: Steak, potatoes, vegetables, fruit crumble. Snacks: Crisps, Jaffa Cakes.

Most people, even our doctor when I was a child, seem to have assumed that at some point in my life I had an eating disorder. I've always been skinny and I've always had to put up with the nudges and winks it brings.

It began at school with nicknames like "Matchy" and when I didn't develop a bust there would be comments about my "fried eggs". The other girls were so nasty that I just withdrew and became a reclusive child. Once they held me down and tied my long hair into loads of tiny knots, it was so bad I had to have it cut short.

I feel very strongly about the weight issue. If my friends talk about it, I always put the other side across. I ask them how they'd like it if they couldn't buy a dress they could wear that night because they'd have to wait two weeks for it to be altered. I ask them how they'd feel if every mouthful of food they ate - or didn't eat - came under scrutiny. I'm so bony, I can't wax my legs because it tears the flesh.

Then when my friends say: "Yes, but how would you like to be a size 12?" and I say I'd love it, they don't take it seriously.

Most people who know me know that it's not my fault and they understand how hurtful it is when people make comments.

I've tried so-called "weight on" products, but they didn't work for me. Even having children hasn't help. But I recently paid pounds 160 to see an image consultant, which has given me a big boost. I now realise I look much better in fitted clothes than jeans and a baggy jumper.

I'd say to women who want to be a size 8, be careful what you wish for. Being too thin is just as bad as being too fat.

Judy Koloko

5ft 9ins and 8 stone

Judy, 26, a model agency booker, lives in Fulham, West London, with her partner Steven Darlington, 27, and their four-year-old daughter, Ruqaiyah.

Typical daily diet Breakfast: Egg sandwich, hot chocolate. Lunch: Lasagne, chips, jam rolypoly, fizzy drink. Dinner: Curry, rice, yoghurt, wine. Snacks: Chocolate, cheese, muffin.

At school I was always the thinnest one in the class and even when I was six the other children used to call me "stick insect".

As we got older, my friends developed busts while I stayed as flat as an ironing board.

That's when it started to worry me and I remember trying drinks that are supposed to build you up - but nothing worked.

By the time I was 16 or 17 other girls were starting to envy my figure. I thought it was odd, but they really seemed to want to be as skinny as me. But I couldn't see anything great about always trying to disguise my figure. I used to wear three pairs of leggings, one on top of the other, to fatten my legs, even on hot days.