Colombia's fattest baby who weighs the same as a six-year-old rescued by charity after mother said she kept feeding him every time he cried



Eight-month-old Santiago Mendoza weighs 3.1stone - 19.7kg

His mother Eunice Fandiño asked charity for help treat his obesity

Santiago has now been flown to Bogota for emergency treatment



Colombia's most obese baby - who weighs the same as a six-year-old child - has been ‘rescued’ by a charity so he can undergo life-saving treatment.

Santiago Mendoza, eight months, already tips the scales at 3.1-stone, was flown from his home in the northeastern city of Valledupar to the capital Bogota on Sunday.

Volunteers from Medellin-based Chubby Hearts foundation (Gorditos de Corazon) stepped in to transport the boy after his mother Eunice Fandiño wrote in asking for help.

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Colombia's most obese baby Santiago Mendoz (pictured with therapist Salvador Palacios) used to weigh the same as a six-year-old child The 20kg child, pictured at a centre for the obese, has been taken from his mother due to his size Santiago has already been hospitalised on several occasions because of his weight. His mother said she would always give him food or milk when he became upset - which caused his weight to increase



He was flown from his home in the northeastern city of Valledupar to the capital Bogota on Sunday after his mother called the charity asking for help with her child's size

She confessed that her own ‘ignorance’ had led to her son's unhealthy weight gain and that, every time he cried, she gave him food or milk to calm down.

‘He was born with an anxiety, so if he cried I just fed him,’ she added.

Caracol Radio reports that Santiago has suffered medical complications due to his weight since he was born, and has already been hospitalised on several occasions.

Chubby Hearts director Salvador Palacio González said the child would be evaluated by specialist doctors at the Colina Clinic.

Caracol Radio reports Mendoza has suffered medical complications due to his weight since he was born Santiago is at risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and severe problems with his joints in the future

Medics will then try to bring his weight down to a manageable level before submitting him to a series of operations, he added.

‘Likely, what he will need is a long-term treatment, education, healthy food, and when he is older physical activity,’ surgeon Cesar Ernesto Guevar told El Espectador.

‘Otherwise, in the future, he could suffer from diabetes, high blood pressure and severe problems with his joints,’ he added.

Fandiño revealed that she was practically confined to her home as the baby was ‘too heavy’ to take out and about.

But she added that she was ‘optimistic’ about the help she was receiving and has promised to follow the instructions she's given by doctors.

The child's mother says she was confined to her home as the baby was too heavy to take out

Chubby Hearts director Salvador Palacio González said medics will try to bring his weight down before he has a series of operations Volunteers from Medellin-based Chubby Hearts foundation (Gorditos de Corazon) stepped in to transport the boy after his mother Eunice Fandiño wrote in asking for help

AROUND THE WORLD: LARGEST TODDLERS AND CHILDREN

At 132lbs, Lu Hao (below in blue) was already five times the size of a normal child his age when he was aged three.

The toddler from China eats a staggering three bowls of rice when he sits down for a family meal.

When Lu Hao was born he weighed just 2.6kg (5.7 lbs), however, from the time he was three months old he began to gain weight rapidly. At 132lbs, Lu Hao (below in blue) was already five times the size of a normal child his age when he was aged three. Another large baby (left) was an 11-month-old who was already the size of an eight-year-old

In 2009 weighing 23st 2lb at just nine-years-old, Dzhambik Khatokhov was believed to be the world's fattest child Another large baby (above left) was an 11-month-old who was already the size of an eight-year-old.

The giant baby tipped the scales at a whopping 61lbs 12oz (28kg) and stands four and a half stone larger than his older brother.

Due to his hefty frame the toddler also has to wear huge nappies. His mother, Milena Orosco de Agudelo, said her son started ballooning at just two months old.

The baby has had undergone a number of medical examinations which suggest he may have a problem with his endocrine system. In 2009 weighing 23st 2lb at just nine-years-old, Dzhambik Khatokhov was believed to be the world's fattest child. But the wrestling fanatic - known as Jambik - insists he is happy with his size and has no intention of losing weight. Big boy: A woman in China has given birth to a boy weighing 16lbs, seen here next to a normal sized newborn His mother, Nelya, 42, claims Jambik is like any healthy, growing child and refuses to put him on a diet despite severe health warnings.

This week a Chinese woman gave birth to a 16lbs baby boy at a hospital in Shanwei, southeast China. Medical staff nicknamed the giant new-born Xiao Pang, which means Little Fat. It is possible that he is the heaviest baby to be born in China, as the last claimant on the national record weighed ‘only’ 15.5lbs.

