Arya Permana from Karawang in West Java, Indonesia, weighed the same as six boys his own age (Picture: Barcroft)

The world’s heaviest child has shed almost five stone after becoming the youngest person to ever undergo a gastric sleeve operation.

Arya Permana from Karawang in West Java, Indonesia, underwent a five-hour operation after doctors told his parents that if he didn’t, he would die.

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The 11-year-old, who last month weighed 30 stone, weighed the same as six boys his own age and struggled to walk more than five minutes at a time.

After years of over-feeding him, parents Ade and Rokayah Soemantri travelled with their son to the Omni hospital in Jakarta, Arya.


The extensive surgery, which was performed by Dr Handi-Wing, saw a large portion of Arya’s stomach removed – making it banana-shaped.

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He struggled to walk more than five minutes at a time (Picture: Barcroft)

Arya has had life-saving surgery after eating himself to near-death (Picture: Barcroft)

After years of over-feeding him, parents Ade and Rokayah Soemantri were eventually convinced that their young son had to have drastic surgery (Picture: Barcroft)

The surgery aim was to curb the boy’s appetite, making him feel fuller for longer.



Doctors had called Arya’s condition ‘one of the toughest cases of obesity in the world’ adding if the situation was not controlled it could have proved fatal.

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But just a month after surgery Arya has already lost nearly five stone and he is expected to lose close to 15 stone in one year.

Prior to his surgery, Arya was living on a daily diet of fried chicken, rice, noodles and chocolate ice cream.

Failing to realise the seriousness of their son’s condition, Arya’s parents continued to feed their son greasy curries and high-cholesterol snacks.

Ade said: ‘He ate like he had no sense of being full. Every time he had two packets of noodles and two eggs.

Travelling to the Omni hospital in Jakarta, Arya was the youngest person to ever undergo a five-hour gastric sleeve operation (Picture: Barcroft)

His parents were told he would die (Picture: Barcroft)

Arya Permana at school with his classmates in Karawang, West Java (Picture: Barcroft)

He was named the World’s Heaviest Child (Picture: Barcroft)

‘More than half a kilo of chicken and then there was rice. This could be four to six times a day.

‘The saddest thing was watching Arya try to get up. He would get out of breath just walking five metres. We were very worried.’

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It was only when their son’s health reached a near critical condition that Ade and mum Rokayah Soemantri accepted their son needed urgent help.

Rokayah said: ‘I am the one the most to blame. I regret it because it’s my fault. I didn’t control how much I fed him. I keep feeding Arya because I love my child.’

When he was born Arya weighed a healthy 8.3 lbs and didn’t start gaining weight until he was five.

Arya weighed 30 stone (Picture: Barcroft)

He couldn’t stand without getting out of breath (Picture: Barcroft)

He now weighs 25 stone (Picture: Barcroft)

Arya Permana at a waterpark with friends in Karawang (Picture: Barcroft)

He then gained a staggering 20 stone in four years.

Struggling to come to terms with the severity of the operation, Rokayah initially refused before realising her son’s near-critical condition.

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Arya has a long way to go but is already planning what he will do once he loses more weight.

He said: ‘I’m going to play with my friends in the pool, play football and ride bicycles.’

World’s Heaviest Child: Extraordinary People, Thursday 1st June at 10pm on Channel 5.