Colombia's Fattest Baby 'Rescued'

"Grossly obese" is a phrase that should never sit alongside another one: "8-month-old." But that is apparently indeed the case in Colombia, where a baby has been "rescued" from his family by a charity—at his own mother's request. Santiago Mendoza weighs a staggering 44 pounds, roughly equivalent to the weight of a 6-year-old, and after his mother found herself unable to carry him anymore, she contacted the Chubby Hearts Foundation (Gorditos de Corazon).

Its volunteers removed him from his home in Valledupar and took him to the capital. There, the New York Daily News reports he'll be evaluated, put on a healthy diet that should spur weight loss, and will then undergo unspecified surgeries. His mother shoulders much of the blame for his weight, and admitted that "he was born with an anxiety, so if he cried I just fed him." Local media reports that the child has already suffered medical complications that required hospitalization due to his weight, notes news.com.au. (Click to read about a 2-year-old who was reportedly the youngest to ever undergo bariatric surgery.)