Don't judge me! IT'S NOT MY FAULT I'M THIS SIZE

Receiving her diagnosis was a huge relief

- Cloe Willetts

For years Chyanne Bevan’s family believed her escalating weight was caused by secret food binges.

Strangers on the street abused the Wellingtonian, calling her lazy and obese. But the struggling former cheerleader was hitting the gym four times a week and sticking to a strict diet. When she was finally diagnosed with a serious condition almost three years ago, everything started making sense. Chyanne’s changing shape, ill health and mood swings were the result of Cushing's Disease.

“I’m looked at as a fat girl who eats takeaways and doesn’t exercise, but it’s not the case,” says the 23-year-old, who works as a landlord at her parents’ property investment business. “I hate going to get fish and chips, so I send my partner Sam in, because people look at you like you shouldn’t be eating it. I actually hardly ever do and I’m this size because of a disease.”

Cushing's Disease occurs when the body produces too much cortisol, the stress hormone. Symptoms include thin and blotchy skin that bruises easily, a round moon face, poor bone density, increased blood pressure and weight gain – especially around the stomach and upper back. There’s also pain and exhaustion, as well as depression and anxiety.

“Cushing’s is created by a tumour on your pituitary gland, which is a small pea-sized gland on the brain that releases hormones,” says Chyanne, who weighed 125kg at her heaviest. “It’s like being a walking lollipop because my middle is huge but my arms and legs are thin.”