Lu Hao, a 3-year-old boy from China, weighs 132 pounds (60kg), five times the size of a normal child his age, according to British newspaper the Sun.
The toddler's insatiable hunger and rapid weight gain has baffled doctors. They suspect the boy's low birthweight of 5.7 pounds (2.6 kg), might have something to do with it.
Lu can eat three big bowls of rice at a sitting and "cries nonstop" if denied what he wants, the toddler's father Lu Yuncheng told the Sun.
Lu's parents have to try every method to curb their child's appetite and encourage physical activity, all in vain. The 3-year-old prefers to ride on his mother's motorcycle rather than walk to kindergarten and throws temper tantrums when his parents attempt to lighten his food intake.
Local doctors suspected the child's weight gain may be caused by a hormonal disorder but tests revealed his hormones were normal, further deepening what some doctors believe to be a medical mystery.
For now, Lu Hao's parents continue to monitor their son's diet and hope that his hunger settles down.
A netizen named Jean Bohinc suggested that the youngster may have Prader-Willi syndrome. The syndrome is the result of a missing gene in chromosome 15. Children affected by the syndrome have an extreme craving for food, resulting in quick and uncontrollable weight gain
wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?cid=1303&MainCatID=13&id=20110330000078
