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"   Question I am 19-years-old and I have lost all of my self-confidence. I want to put on weight.  I am very tall and slim, weigh nine and a half stone, am six foot tall and am very pale and ill looking. I usually stay in because of it and hate people looking at me.  What type of foods or vitamins can I eat or what can I do put on weight and look better?  I am so upset about the way I look and really need to put on weight.   Answer Most people might claim to be delighted to have the kind of problems that you are expressing as most people of course are fighting to lose weight.  However there are thousands of people like yourself who are slimmer than they would like to be and wish to fill out their frame.  In most cases it is a constitutional situation, in other words, just the way you were made genetically.  If your parents are tall and thin, it is likely that you will be too.  However, there are a number of medical disorders, which could contribute including an overactive thyroid gland, anaemia or a malabsorption syndrome preventing your body from absorbing all the nutrients you need to put on weight.  There would certainly be no harm in undergoing some simple tests to rule these factors out.  If all proves normal I would suggest you start eating more frequent meals than you have been used to.  If you were to eat every three to four hours incorporating plenty of protein, carbohydrate and fat into your diet and into regular snacks, you would almost certainly put on some weight, especially if you trained regularly with weights at least three times a week.  As far as your pallor is concerned, by not apply some fake tan which these days if very effective and does not streak or even use a sunbed once a fortnight or so, (remembering not to burn or overdo it in view of the risk of skin damage).  I defy anyone who is medically healthy not to put on about one and a half stone in 6-12 months using these methods. Yours sincerely The NetDoctor Medical Team  Other Qs &amp;amp;amp; As Can I chew my tablets? Does weight lifting stunt your growth? Fitness Genetic dysplasia How can I gain height? I want to improve my weight I want to increase my height My daughter has problems with her weight My eight-month-old isn&amp;#039;t eating properly Ongoing tiredness and problems losing weight Pituitary test query Putting on weight Taking kelp for weight loss When should I become concerned about my son&amp;#039;s height?  Last updated 04.05.2011 "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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