Obesity: Health Fears For 10-Month-Old Baby Who Already Weighs Three Stone

A ten-month-old Indian baby,  Aliya Saleem, has weighed in at a whopping 2st 13lbs – making her one of the heaviest children in the world for her age. She was born at a relatively large 9lbs, then began to rapidly gain weight from the age of four months – and is now as heavy as an average six-year-old girl.

Her parents are worried about her health, after another of their children died aged just one-and-a-half after gaining weight in a similar fashion.

The girl’s mother Shabana Parveen, 25, said: ‘A few months after her birth, she starting gaining weight. We had to buy her a new pair of clothes every two weeks because the old ones become too tight for her.’

The enormous weight has put Aliya’s life in danger, but the family have lacked the money to obtain good enough medical care for her.

Her father Mohammad Saleem, 28, said: ‘We have tried our best, but we could only afford to take her to the local hospital. The doctors in the village could not tell us clearly what she is suffering from. We took Aliya to a doctor in Ranchi. After the check up the doctor suggested that we go to another city, but we couldn’t afford that so we didn’t take her.’

However, Aliya’s parents recently managed to get a consultation at Fortis Hospital on the outskirts of Delhi in a bid to try and get to the bottom of their daughter’s massive weight gain.

Dr Krishan Chugh, head of paediatrics at Fortis, said: ‘This is the heaviest baby at ten months of age that I have seen. This could be case of morbid obesity or even a hormonal imbalance.’

The average weight of a ten-month-old child in the UK is 1st 4lbs – less than half Aliya’s weight.

Aliya’s giant frame poses problems for Mrs Parveen, who struggles to hold her in her lap for very long. She said: ‘She has become very heavy. My husband comes home very late from work.

Aliya’s increasing weight is making her parents nervous about their own financial future too.

Her daily food intake, according to Mrs Parveen, is three times that of a normal child – putting a severe strain on the family’s finances.

‘We have limited means, so there are instances when I have to borrow money from relatives or friends to feed the family and Aliya,’ said Mr Saleem, who works as a tailor – earning less than £3 a day.

But despite her ever-increasing weight, Aliya is the favourite baby in the village. Mrs Parveen said: ‘Everybody in the village loves her. Kids also come and play with her. But very few can lift her.’

Source: DailyMail