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Colombia’s 44-Pound Baby Will Start a Fruit and Veggie Diet

By Cheri Cheng | Update Date: Mar 20, 2014 09:24 AM EDT

A charity group has decided to step in and help a morbidly obese baby from Colombia lose weight. The eight-month-old boy currently weighs 44-pounds, which according to the American Academy of Pediatrics is already double the median weight for a baby at that age. At 44-pounds, the boy, Santiago is the same weight as a normal six-year-old child. Now, Santiago is being placed on a strict fruit and vegetable diet.

"I'm worried about his obesity," the mother, Eunice Fandino said in an interview with RCN Television reported by ABC News. "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."

Due to the amount of fat present on his body, Santiago has difficulty walking and moving around, which makes losing weight even more difficult. After acknowledging the dangers of obesity, Fandino sought medical help from the health charity, Chubby Hearts. In her letter, Fandino blamed herself for her son's weight stating that she had fed him every single time he cried.

"He was born with anxiety, so if he cried I just fed him," Fandino had said according to the Dailymail.

The organization agreed to offer assistance. Chubby Hearts immediately removed the baby from his home in the northeastern city of Valledupar and checked him into a hospital located in the capital, Bogota where he will receive urgent medical treatment. According to the reports, Santiago had suffered several medical issues since his birth and has been hospitalized a few times already.

Santiago will start a new regimen that should ideally trim him down to 17 pounds. The new regimen will start by weaning him off of formula milk. Santiago will then go on a diet concentrated in fruits and vegetables. The treatment designed for his heart health is currently unclear.

Santiago, who is Colombia's fattest baby, will hopefully start making progress at the center.

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