Columbia’s Biggest Baby: 43-Pound, 8-Month-Old The Size of a 6-Year-Old


Eight-month-old Santiago Mendoza tips the scale at exactly 43.4 pounds. Due to his cumbrous state, he’s been coined “Columbia’s Biggest Baby” by media outlets in South America. Although the baby’s size has garnered international attention, his morbid obesity is considered life-threatening.

According to Mirror UK, Mendoza has been hospitalized numerous times due to health complications as a result of his weight, which is approximately three times the size of the average child his age.

On Sunday, Mar. 16, volunteers from Medellin-based Chubby Hearts reached out to the child’s mother, who has become immensely concerned with his declining health. Mendoza has been moved from the family’s home in Bogotá, to be treated by medical specialist so he can receive what they expect will be “life-saving treatment.”

The baby’s mother, Eunice Fandiño, admitted that her “ignorance” was the reason for the child’s rapid weight gain. She also stated that every time he cried, she just gave him milk in an effort to calm him.

“He was born with an anxiety so if he cried I just fed him,” Fandiño said. She went on to express that she feels like a “prisoner in her own home,” as the baby has become to heavy to carry around.

“I don’t want him to go on like this,” she told reporters. “God willing, the diet they are going to put him on for his heart will work to reduce his weight.”

Chubby Hearts director Salvador Palacio González also weighed in with details about the Mendoza’s condition and their plans to try and help the baby.

“What he will need is a long-term treatment, education, healthy food, and when he is older physical activity,” surgeon Cesar Ernesto Guevar told Colombian newspaper El Espectador. “Otherwise, in the future, he could suffer from diabetes, high blood pressure and severe problems with his joints.”

The baby’s mother stated that she is optimistic about her son’s health, and she will make great strides to adhere to the instructions given by her son’s doctors.

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