Everyone knows that being excessively obese can lead to a series of diseases. In 2014, in Jiangxi, a 14-year-old boy named Xu Zhoulei reached an astonishing 300 pounds.
You should know that the normal weight range for a 14-year-old boy is roughly between 45-64kg. Some boys who grow faster may weigh more, but 300 pounds is considered overweight even for an adult.
How did Xu Zhoulei become like this?
The Secret of 300 Pounds
In 2000, Xu Zhoulei was born in Jiangxi. At birth, his weight had already reached 8 pounds. Although heavier than an average baby, it was not considered overweight.
As the youngest child in the family, he was very much loved by his family. During his infancy, his weight gain rate was faster than other children, but his family did not pay attention to his weight at that time. Instead, they believed that chubby children were blessed.
At around one and a half years old, Xu Zhoulei was sent to Hainan by his parents to visit relatives. The relatives loved this chubby child and kept feeding him. Unlike normal children who stop eating other foods after being full, Xu Zhoulei accepted any food offered, as if he was never full.
In just one month, Xu Zhoulei’s weight increased by 9 pounds. When he returned home, his parents noticed his astonishing growth rate. However, everyone thought that a child who could eat well was lucky. Moreover, since Xu Zhoulei often complained of not being full, his father would buy him delicacies from the night market after work to bring home.
Apart from that, his father, Zhou Yaohua, would also buy some snacks for Xu Zhoulei to keep at home. Surprisingly, regardless of how much food they gave him, he never said he was full. As a result, Xu Zhoulei’s weight reached 70 pounds by the age of three. When he started kindergarten, Xu Zhoulei stood out like a giant among his classmates.
Due to his abnormal weight, Xu Zhoulei felt out of place in his class. However, he couldn’t get rid of his habit of overeating. Meanwhile, his classmates treated him with disdain.
In elementary school, he continued to eat excessively. By the age of six, he already weighed 120 pounds. Because of his obese figure, his classmates called him “fat pig” and isolated him. While other children played around after class, he sat still in his seat, alone.
Over time, the teacher also noticed Xu Zhoulei’s isolation and the name-calling. To improve his mood, the teacher would console him frequently and inform Xu Zhoulei’s parents about the situation.
Seeing this, Xu Zhoulei’s parents realized that their child was gaining weight too rapidly. They decided to control his diet to help him lose weight. However, Xu Zhoulei was extremely dissatisfied with eating less, and he would often complain of hunger after meals.
Thus, despite the parents’ reluctance, they still gave food to Xu Zhoulei while advising him to eat less. During the day, when Xu Zhoulei’s parents were at work, he would help himself to the snacks hidden by his parents in the cabinet. Seeing the emptied snack bags upon returning home from work, his parents felt helpless.
As a result, Xu Zhoulei’s weight not only remained uncontrolled but also increased steadily. Realizing this, his mother made up her mind to control his food intake, regardless of the child’s protests.
However, no matter how much they persuaded Xu Zhoulei to eat less, he could not control his desire to eat. When his parents tried to make him eat less, he would resort to physical violence against his mother or threaten his father with a knife in the kitchen. There were instances where he would snatch food from his siblings’ plates when there wasn’t enough food in his bowl during meals.
Due to his soaring weight, Xu Zhoulei had no interest in studying as he faced relentless mockery at school. Consequently, his parents had him drop out of school. To what extent could Xu Zhoulei eat? According to his father, Zhou Yaohua, Xu Zhoulei could easily finish six large bowls of rice at once, eat ten steamed buns in one sitting, and his eating speed was also very fast.
With no one in the family able to control Xu Zhoulei’s eating habits, his parents had to resort to “creating” other weight loss methods for him.
The Long Weight Loss Journey
Initially, Zhou Yaohua decided to take his son out for a walk or run every day. Due to his excessive weight, every step Xu Zhoulei took was quite challenging. Nevertheless, his father encouraged and consoled him, allowing Xu Zhoulei to walk or run with him for over half an hour every day. However, after some time, Zhou Yaohua’s weight continued to increase because Xu Zhoulei would always complain of hunger upon returning home after exercise.
Seeing that this method was not effective, the parents reluctantly decided to send him to a weight loss program at the Shaolin Temple. During that period, Xu Zhoulei lived a very tough life; he not only had to undergo vigorous exercise every day but also had dietary restrictions. Moreover, due to his abnormal physique, the other students at the Shaolin Temple not only ostracized him but also physically abused him. This made Xu Zhoulei feel dejected again, and he cried and caused a scene, demanding to return home.
Witnessing Xu Zhoulei’s negative mental state, his parents had no choice but to bring him back home and seek out other weight loss methods.
When Xu Zhoulei was ten years old, Zhou Yaohua accidentally learned about a weight loss center in Guangzhou with a good reputation for weight reduction. It was said that those who entered had very noticeable weight loss effects.
Promptly, he contacted this weight loss center and sent Xu Zhoulei there. Since the students at the weight loss center were relatively obese, Xu Zhoulei did not face ostracism and received proper guidance from the coaches, who also provided him with psychological comfort.
Though Xu Zhoulei’s parents were somewhat skeptical about sending their child there, they were surprised by the effectiveness of this weight loss institution. Xu Zhoulei managed to reduce from 180 pounds to 120 pounds. The entire family was delighted with the outcome, realizing that if this progress continued, Xu Zhoulei would eventually reach a normal weight. However, upon returning home, he still could not control his eating habits; he kept complaining of hunger, showing no interest in exercising. At times when his family served him less food, he resorted to scavenging for food in bins by the roadside, consuming discarded meals.
Upon learning of this behavior, his parents felt deeply distressed, understanding that the situation could not continue like this. Therefore, they decided to take Xu Zhoulei for medical examination.
As a result, Xu Zhoulei, who stayed at home during this period, not only failed to lose weight but instead ballooned to 200 pounds.
Weeks later, it finally dawned upon Zhou Yaohua to have Xu Zhoulei examined by a doctor. After persistent inquiry, both Zhou Yaohua and his wife planned to take Xu Zhoulei to a reputable hospital in Guangzhou for examination.
The Road to Disease
Due to his excessive weight, Xu Zhoulei could not travel by car, so his parents purchased plane tickets to travel together. Upon landing, Zhou Yaohua and his wife took Xu Zhoulei to the designated hospital.
Once the doctor saw this twelve-year-old child, they were astonished; although they had seen many obese individuals, they had never encountered one this young and overweight.
After a series of examinations, the doctors discovered that Xu Zhoulei did not indulge in eating out of sheer pleasure but had a genetic condition. This condition was named “Prader-Willi Syndrome,” characterized by a deletion in the 15th chromosome, which made the child’s brain constantly transmit signals to eat.
Moreover, the deletion in the 15th chromosome was also linked to intellectual disabilities compared to the average person. The doctors emphasized that Xu Zhoulei must lose weight because excessive obesity could pose life-threatening risks. He was a candidate for gastric surgery, but his weight had already reached 300 pounds, making surgery impossible until he achieved a suitable weight.
Therefore, the doctors specially designed a series of weight-loss plans for him. Initially, his weight gradually decreased, reaching 209 pounds. However, the next day, his weight suddenly increased by ten pounds—a baffling phenomenon that surprised the doctors.
When doctors and parents questioned Xu Zhoulei about the reason behind this, he sheepishly confessed that he had secretly consumed a whole box of instant noodles while his father was asleep.
This box contained a total of 18 packs, highlighting his enormous appetite. Counseling him about the potential harm, the doctors urged him not to eat in secret again. He finally pledged to refrain from such behaviors.
After a while, Xu Zhoulei managed to reduce his weight to 280 pounds, making him eligible for gastric surgery. The surgery was successful, and with a smaller stomach, Xu Zhoulei’s weight gradually dropped to 220 pounds in the following period.
Unfortunately, the effectiveness of gastric surgery was short-lived, as it failed to curb Xu Zhoulei’s appetite. Over the two years spent at the hospital, his weight skyrocketed to over 300 pounds, and it continued to increase.
On April 20, 2014, Sun Liang, dubbed as “China’s Heaviest Man” weighing over 600 pounds, passed away due to obesity, awakening Xu Zhoulei to the looming crisis. Despite this, he continued to struggle with controlling his appetite and witnessed an unchecked growth in weight.
On the night of April 12, 2021, Xu Zhoulei, weighing over 400 pounds, suddenly experienced breathing difficulties while sleeping. His parents rushed him to the hospital, but sadly, the doctors failed to save his life.
Thus, it is crucial for parents to undergo premarital and prenatal screening to prevent genetic diseases fundamentally. Additionally, when a child’s weight grows abnormally, it’s essential to take them to the hospital for examination as obesity can lead to a range of health problems. Each individual must be mindful of their weight, maintain a healthy diet, and engage in regular exercise.
