The stunningly beautiful Audrey Hepburn remains a heartthrob for millions of men even 18 years after her death, but the truth behind her envious figure carries a sad twist, says the Daily Mail.

Referring to Dr. Nessa Carey, a British biologist, the Daily Mail reports that the actor’s slender figure had less to do with leading a celebrity lifestyle and was heavily influenced by her troubled youth. Hepburn was starved during ‘the hunger winter’ from November 1944 to May 1945 during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands which resulted in malnutrition, leading to several health problems that included anaemia, jaundice, recurring blood disorders and respiratory troubles. Those conditions remained until her death in 1993.

According to Dr. Carey, Audrey Hepburn’s dreadful early-life experience altered her genetic configuration and made her susceptible to fragile health that she battled against throughout her life. While the existing obesity treatment focuses heavily on the health impact of bad diet and a sedentary lifestyle, genetics still remains to be a less-trodden area of research, says the UK daily, adding that the science of epigenics can explore how human genes undergo permanent changes because of diet and environment.

Malnutrition in childhood can potentially affect the metabolism in a severe way, resulting in coronary heart disease. Bad diet during pregnancy can increase the risk of type-2 diabetes for the child and leave them in danger of epigenetic changes, warns the Daily Mail.

Looking into the other side of the coin, eating too much of fatty foods can lead to health issues that are not as serious as those caused by poor nutrition. Doctors and dieticians insist that a balanced diet must be consumed to steer clear of excessive weight gain that might require medical treatment. Prescription-based weight loss treatment Xenical orlistat can offer a safe solution to people with a body mass index of 27 or above.