A 12-year-old boy who used to weigh more than 30st has lost half his body weight by giving up sugar, and now wants to become a footballer. Arya Permana, ballooned to 31st 6lbs and was named Indonesia’s fattest boy at the age of ten, but has since gone on to lose more than 15st.
The youngster baffled doctors three years ago when footage of him playing in a water tank, emerged from the small village of Cipurwasari in Indonesia’s West Java province.
The little boy could chomp down enough rice, fish curry, beef, vegetable soup and Tempeh – a traditional soy patty – to feed two adults for a whole day.
His ever-growing frame meant no clothes fitted him, so he had to spend his days dRap£d in a sarong and sitting inside a tiny pool to cool himself down.
He was born at home via natural birth and weighed a normal 5lbs but began to pack on the pounds at an abnormal speed from the age of two.
His diet had also become a worry for his parents, mother Rokayah Somantri, 37, and father Ade Somantri, 47, as he ate five times a day.
Several doctors in their village examined Arya, but did not find anything wrong about his alarming weight.
But after following a strict diet and with rigorous exercise, football fan Arya now is an active 16st boy who walks three miles every day and plays badminton with his friends.
In pictures taken after his transformation Arya can be seen wearing his old t-shirt in disbelief to show his remarkable weight loss.
An elated Arya said: ‘Now I am happy, I can walk. I can play as well. I have become more agile than before. I like playing football too.
‘I can walk 5km with my friends and every afternoon I play football with them. ‘I want to be a professional footballer.
‘My favourite football club is Liverpool FC and my favourite player is Roberto Firmino. I want to play like him.’