While many people would be happy to remove fat from their body, with some even undergoing procedures such as liposuction, a British paracyclist turned out to have a rare medical syndrome that causes him not to store fat.

Tom Staniford, 23, has the MDP syndrome, one of only eight people in the world suffering from the syndrome in which he is unable to store fat under his skin, causing him to lose all the fat around his face and limbs when he was a child despite being born a normal weight.

A research team discovered the syndrome when they mapped and analysed Mr Staniford's DNA to isolate the gene mutation responsible for it. Professor Andrew Hattersley, a scientist at the Exeter University, explained the physical condition of the cyclist to a genetic mutation that happened in the sperm of Mr Staniford's father very early in the life of his child.

The research team found an abnormality in his POLD1 gene on chromosome 19 and a missing single amino acid from an enzyme crucial to DNA replication.

As a result, the cyclist's body thinks he is obese because of his type 2 diabetes. Mr Staniford has also been suffering from hearing from hearing impairment since he was 10 and uses hearing aids.

"I have just 40 per cent of the muscles of an average male. I struggle to metabolise sugar and carbohydrates efficiently due to the diabetes - and I struggle to recover due to lack of immediate fuel sources, low testosterone, etc," BBC quoted the cyclist.

His muscles have a very narrow margin of efficiency and they are tight, stiff and inflexible due to the lack of fat, which has led Mr Staniford to always experiment and attempt to find what would work for his body through trial and error.

To manage his diabetes, Mr Staniford spends much time on his bike training as well as controlling his diet. His rigorous training has paid off since Mr Staniford became the British national paracycling circuit race champion in 2011.

He hopes to became the Paralympic champion in 2016 at the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.