Peaches Geldof ‘had the heart of a 90-year-old gangster,’ mother-of-two said after doctors warned her over unhealthy eating habits

Rumours about potential health problems have continued after Peaches's death

Peaches Geldof’s dramatic weight loss provided gossip rags and tabloids with endless column inches during her young life.

Like many women out-growing their teenage forms, the socialite’s body had notably changed from puppy-like curvaceous youngster to waif-like adult.

Unlike many women, however, her life was played out on the media stage, forever in the limelight with her appearance routinely scrutinised.

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Theories surrounding her image change largely rumoured that she had suffered from an eating disorder. But Geldof repeatedly laughed off the claims, insisting that her weight loss was actually down to strict doctor’s orders after a health scare caused by overeating.

"I had cholesterol and the doctors said stop eating s***. So I did," she told The Sun in an interview dating back to 2011.

"If you stop eating pizza and chips you then don't look like you used to."

Seemingly unaware of her appearance, she then asked the interviewer: "Do I really look that thin?

"Let's be honest. How did I do it? I just stopped eating McDonalds and f****** s*** ever day."

"I used to eat s*** every single day,” she continued. “I used to wake up with my boyfriend and eat crap.

"I had the heart of a 90-year-old gangster."

Peaches with her father Bob Geldof and her sister Pixie in 2003 (Getty Images)

"People are like, 'Peaches is scary and anorexic'," she went on to say. "Not really. It's ridiculous."

Of course, without medical evidence, there is no way of knowing whether Geldof was being entirely candid or not on the subject matter. Indeed, sufferers of eating disorders, like anorexia and bulimia, are likely to be incredibly private about their battle with food.

"Eating disorders by their nature are a very secretive illness and it can be some time before friends and family are aware of a problem," Leanne Thorndyke, a spokesperson for the UK’s leading eating disorder charity BEAT, tells The Independent.

"You can’t tell by looking at someone if they have an eating disorder and they could be medically at risk and you wouldn’t know.

"Eating disorders are serious mental illnesses and claim more lives than any other mental illness - one in five of the most seriously affected will die prematurely from the physical consequences or suicide."

The rumours about potential health problems have continued after her death. Reports speculating whether her frequent juice dieting was to blame for her "unexplained" passing are rife, as are interviews with former lovers and friends, citing Geldof’s past struggles with addiction.

All of them are, however, unfounded. A post-mortem to explain why she died so suddenly was carried out on Wednesday 9 April, but it was ruled inconclusive pending the results of her toxicology report.

The report isn’t expected to be finalised for several weeks. In the meantime, her body has been released back to her family to allow them to proceed with making her funeral plans.

Readers who suspect that they may be suffering from an eating disorder, or who are worried about a friend who may be, can seek advice via the BEAT website here.

“[Eating disorders] are treatable conditions and full recovery is possible,” Thorndyke adds. “The sooner someone gets the help and treatment they need, the more likely they are to make a full recovery.”