Fattest Baby Rescued From Family

EIGHT-MONTH-OLD Santiago Mendoza might look like a happy, cuddly little tot but the reality is that he is very sick.

Santiago, who weighs 19.7kg — the equivalent of a six-year-old child — has been ‘rescued’ from Colombian health charity Chubby Hearts.

Volunteers from the foundation spirited the grossly obese infant away from his home in the north east city of Valledupar to a hospital in Bogota for urgent medical treatment.

The intervention came after his mother Eunice Fandino wrote to Chubby Hearts for help after Santiago became too heavy to take outside.

Ms Fandino blamed her own ‘‘ignorance’’ for Santiago’s weight gain and admitted she fed him every time he cried.

“He was born with an anxiety, so if he cried I just fed him,” she told local media.

Santiago’s weight has landed him in hospital on several occasions in the past. He is now being assessed by specialists.