You can probably imagine a five-year-old weighing 44 pounds, but what about an eight-month-old? Santiago Mendoza is less than a year old, but is already obese, according to ABC News. Now, the child is being placed on a strict diet in order to help his health.
The baby was actually recently "rescued" from his mother by a charity, according to The Mirror. Santiago was born with anxiety, so his mother fed him every time he cried. Needless to say, this caused the baby to put on a significant amount of weight-so much that he had to be taken to the hospital several times due to health complications.
In fact, Santiago was so large that folds of fat inhibited the child from properly moving. His mother, Eunice Fandino, eventually called in for help.
"I'm worried about his obesity," said Fandino in an interview with RCN Television. "I don't want him to continue like this so, God willing, the treatment they're going to give him for his heart will work to reduce his weight."
Currently, the charity organization helping with Santiago, Chubby Hearts, is planning to have the boy evaluated at a clinic, according to The Mirror. Santiago will then have his weight brought down, and a series of operations will take place in order to help with his health. If he doesn't receive treatment, it's likely that Santiago could suffer from diabetes, high blood pressure and other issues later in life.
"We obviously depend on the mother's care, we have all the specialists and our commitment is complete," said Salvador Palacio Gonzalez, one of the doctors working with Santiago, according to The Independent. "We have to subject him to some physical activity therapy programs, we logically also have to place him on a diet. The most important thing is to improve his social surroundings because we're talking about a low-income family."
Want to learn more? Check out the video below, courtesy of YouTube.
