People that look different are often ridiculed and ostracized by society – if they are lucky. Worse, they may be harmed, tortured or even killed.

Many of these conditions you will see in the following photo gallery are beyond belief. Some are due to genes, others are due to odd habits. Although many may find the photos frightening and unsettling, we think it is important to help bring greater awareness to them.

1. The man with zero percent fat

Tom Staniford lives with Myelodysplastic Preleukemic (MDP) syndrome, a condition in which his body is unable to store fat under his skin.

MDP is an extremely rare metabolic disorder, which is currently known to affect only a total of eight people in the entire world.