I really wasn’t sure whether or not I should post this up, after I found out about it yesterday It does after all deal with the subject of a young child. However, I thought that his story was really inspiring and so I decided to share it.
12 year old Indonesian Arya Permana was named by the Indonesian Wold Records Museum as the world’s most obese child (as if we really need to keep records like that 🙁 !). He weighed in at a staggering 418 pounds, and was quite obviously suffering huge health problems as a result.
Last year though we undertook gastric surgery and embarked on a disciplined exercise and diet regime. As a result of this he lost a huge 183 lbs, almost half his body mass, and is now starting to enjoy life again.
Young Arya Permana lost nearly half of his body weight in a year:
Before:
Arya as he was last year before his surgery – photo via media
It’s clear from this that if something drastic hadn’t been done then he was heading for a tragically early demise. As a parent this image truly broke my heart.
After:
Photo via media
What a Change! He obviously still has a way to go, and his goal is to lose another 100 – 100 lbs, but he’s now well on the way to a much happier and healthy life.
In his own words: “I lost my appetite, now even six spoons [of food] already makes me full. They ask me to eat more fruits and do exercise regularly. I’m now so delighted to have the opportunity to play with friends wherever I want”.
Although I pretty strongly disagree with using surgery for weight loss, I have to admit that in this case it was not only a good thing, it was an absolute necessity. Without it he probably wouldn’t be with us today.
I wish young Arya every success in his efforts and would really like to see another picture of him in a year from now!