Parents Plea For Help As Obese Brother And Sisters Eat Themselves To Death

Rameshbhai and Pragnaben Nandwana who come from Gujarat in India, are struggling anxiously to handle their obese children, due to a mysterious disorder which makes them keep eating and never feel full.

Their four year old daughter Amisha’s weighs 51 kilos, while her older sister, Yogita, weighs 33.5 kilos, and brother Harsh already weighs 16 kilos at 18 months old.

As a result of their excessive eating, all three suffer breathing problems, even in their sleep. Their weight is increasing at an alarming rate, although their fourth child, Bhavika, is a healthy size.

When their children were born their parents, did not spot anything out of the ordinary. But once they started eating solid foods they realised that something was not quite right.

“The children seemed healthy and normal when they started on solid food but they started eating like adults – five or six roti flat breads. ‘If we didn’t feed them, they cried. We were unable to cope, the kids were suffering too. At this age kids generally run and play but ours were having trouble. Once sitting, they couldn’t get back up.” The father explained.

DailyMail reports that they sought help at Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad. Assistant Professor of Paediatrics at the Civil Hospital, Doctor Charul Purani says that this is a rare case that he has seen for the first time. Her explained that because of their eating pattern, they are not able to breathe properly when they sleep.

After a series of tests carried out on all siblings, their blood samples were sent to  Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge where they were tested as part of an international study into the genetic causes of child obesity. Professor of Metabolism, Sadaf Farooqi at the hospital has this to say:

“We looked at the leptin receptor, which is a gene in the brain that works to regulate appetite, and that’s where we found a mutation. All three children have the same problem, which is a defect that stops that gene from working and as a result their brain does not receive the signal telling them they’re full.”

The Professor also informed the parents that there is no current solution or drug available now for them to take to stop or reverse the condition, but there are a number of possible drugs that are currently undergoing trials and those could be useful for the children.

Photo Cred: DailyMail