By Chris Parsons
As he struggles to haul his massive bulk from the ground, it is clear four-year-old Lu Hao is no ordinary toddler.
The obese Chinese child's parents told last week how their son - who is five times the size of children his age - eats a staggering three bowls of rice for dinner each day.
And as these pictures show, Lu Hao's daily routine revolves heavily around sitting, sleeping and - less surprisingly, eating.
His father Lu Yuncheng and mother Chen Yuan remain mystified why he has grown so big, after being born weighing a perfectly healthy 2.6kg (5.7lbs).
His weight has dramatically ballooned from three months old when his near-insatiable appetite grew by the week.
According to Lu Hao's parents, their son gains weight no matter how hard they restrict his diet or push him to move about.
He has gained 10kg in the past year, despite all attempts by his mother and father to take keep him active.
Lu Hao walks with his parents and even works up a sweat playing with a basketball.
Unsurprisingly however, even when attempting exercise the enormous toddler chews on a lollipop.
His parents are worried he may be bullied when he becomes older and more self-aware, though pictures show that Lu Hao is already an object of fascination for his kindergarten classmates.
Later in the day he is seen napping during a break in class after clearly tiring from his earlier activities.
Since Hao was one-year-old his parents have tried to keep a careful eye on his diet.
However, Lu Hao - who hates walking to school and often gets a ride there by motorcycle - has now grown so big that his mother is unable to pick him up.
Chen Yuan said: 'We have to let him be as if we don't feed him he will cry non-stop.
'He is quite happy that I could ride him to kindergarten instead of walking him there.'
To push Hao to do more sports, the family installed a basketball hoop in the yard and often take him to swim in a local river.
But the exercise just make him hungrier and results in him putting on more weight.
His father Yuncheng said: 'We took him to three hospitals and one said he has a tumour in the head, while the other two said there is no tumour in the head.
'Doctors said his hormones are at a normal level. It's hard to know why he could be so big.'
'We now worry the most about his health. As if he continues to grow at this rate his heart could fail,' said Yuan.
'Our biggest hope is one day Hao could get slim.
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