An 18-year-old college student surnamed Wu (吳), who weighs 226kg, with a body mass index (BMI) of 85, recently underwent surgery to slim down in the hopes of finding a girlfriend, losing 3kg three days after the surgery was completed.
The BMI estimates human body fat based on an individual’s weight and height, but does not actually measure percentage of body fat.
Kaohsiung E-Da Hospital International Weight Loss and Diabetes Surgical Center director Haung Chih-kun (黃致錕) said on Thursday that a BMI rate in excess of 40 is considered morbidly obese.
Photo: Su Fu-nan, Taipei Times
Wu’s BMI stands at 85, and comparing that figure with figures from major weight-loss clinics all over Asia, Wu rates as “the fattest person in Asia,” Huang added.
Wu’s obesity has also caused obstructive sleep apnea, a periodic interruption of breathing during sleep, leading Wu to wake up two or three times every night and forcing him to sleep sitting up for three years straight, Huang said. Because Wu’s family members are not obese and he did not have any obesity complications, such as high blood pressure or diabetes, Huang said Wu’s obesity probably resulted from unhealthy eating habits.
Wu said his appetite grew exponentially after he entered elementary school, going to an all-you-can-eat hotpot eatery at least once a week, eating eight bowls of dry noodles at every meal and eating snacks, adding that his weight already exceeded 100kg when he was in the first year of junior high school.
Wu underwent gastric bypass surgery on Monday and because of the thick fat on his abdominal wall, the doctor custom-ordered a set of lengthened surgical instruments to shrink Wu’s stomach volume to 0.025 liters and shorten his small intestine by 300cm, cutting his absorption of nutrients by 50 percent.
After the surgery, Wu should feel full after eating two dumplings, lose 120kg in a year and weigh 90kg in two years.
Wu, who also likes to sing, said he wanted to become a second Jimmy Lin (林育群), a singer who is overweight, and try out for a TV show once he loses the weight.
Translated by Jake Chung, Staff Writer
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