This obese boy risks being suffocated by his own fat

Meet Misael Abreu, a 5-year-old boy from Espirito Santo, Brazil, who weighs nearly 80kg. The boy has an insatiable appetite, this is why he is three times the size  of his friends.

His parents fear he could die any time by suffocating on his own fat. Misael was born a healthy baby, but soon started piling on the pounds. Doctors think he has rare Prader-Willi Syndrome. It makes him constantly hungry and crave for food.

His parents said Misael often stops breathing in his sleep. They are afraid of losing him at any time. Misael’s dad, Manoel, 38, said, “He is a baby carrying an adult’s weight. His heart must be under a lot of pressure.”

His mum, Josiane de Jesus Caldogno, 37, said, “He has been putting on a lot of weight since he was a baby – even when I was breastfeeding him, it was more than expected. But it was only when he was one and a half years old that we began to worry. He was gaining 3kg a month and was starting getting very heavy.”

The boy is being placed on a low-fat diet and walking 40 minutes per day. But he is still gaining almost 1,8kg per month.

Misael visits a doctor every 3 months in a bid to control his condition, but there is no remedy. Paediatric Neurologist, Lucio Coelho Miranda, who treats the overweight boy said, “I think Misael could get help from someone outside of Brazil – both medically and financially – so he can get the laboratory and genetic testing he needs.”