World’s Biggest Boy | Real Stories D

[Music] this is the biggest boy in the world jamic hatov is 4′ 3 in tall and weighs 16 Stone as much as a baby elephant yet astonishingly jambik is just 7 years old nobody knows why he’s so big or what it could mean for his health my child is not ill he’s just unique if others thinks otherwise that’s up to them in this film a leading British doctor travels to meet jambik and his family and uncovers a far more disturbing story than he had imagined one of the things I I wonder about is whether there’s some gain for the family out of jamit being so big simply because

it it draws attention somehow we’ve got to convey the message to nalia that what she’s doing maybe killing the [Music] boy this is cadino balkaria [Music] a republic in the Caucasus Mountains in the far south of [Music] Russia just 70 M from won cnia cavadino balkaria is a wild and dangerous place with a history of terrorism and

kidnapping Dr Ian Campbell one of the world’s leading experts on Obesity is traveling over 2,000 miles in order to meet 7-year-old janic hatov the biggest boy in the world there are some concerns about going there and there’s a bit of apprehension but I think that the potential to learn and contribute towards what’s happening there is much greater and for that reason I’m quite excited about going Dr Campbell first heard about jambik when his story started to make headlines in the UK press the boy’s 16 Stone size seemed to defy all medical explanation as the founder of the national obesity forum and an adviser to doctors all over the world Dr Campbell was determined to take on janik’s case my interest was SP simply because he was

a child that was so radically different to the others even Within the the the sort of obese children group I was desperate to know first of all what an impact that was having on him what his own Physicians had done about if anything and what we could do to try and help the boy if help is [Music] required this could be a challenge in this poor and superstitious corner of the world being big is not seen as a [Music] problem people around here they don’t think it’s serious they don’t think he’s a sick child when they see janig they spoil him as a western doctor Ian Campbell takes a

very different view very few of the obese people that I deal with in clinical practice want to be that way they come and see me because they want it to be different over the next week Ian will observe jambik to see if there are any clues in his everyday life that might explain his phenomenal weight then he plans to fly jamic to a leading clinic in Moscow for specialist tests I think our visit to C jambik is is worthwhile if we can bring some of the knowledge that we in the west have develop towards why children are obese and what to do about [Music] it we are happy about arrival of the English doctor we are very interested what he will say because when they examined him the

Russian doctors found nothing wrong with him what I would like to convey to Jambi and his family is that here is a a medical issue which has the potential to cause quite serious ill health at a very young age and severely impact on janik’s quality and duration of Life the arrival of the film crew it’s a good news and I’m happy that J is known in the UK after traveling for 3 Days Dr Campbell is now about to meet the biggest child in the world a leading expert in obesity Dr Ian

Campbell is arriving in the remote Russian Republic of cabardino balkaria to meet 7-year-old jambik hatov the heaviest boy in the world Ian hopes he can unravel the medical mystery of why jambik weighs 16 stone at just 7 years old you must be janig my name is pleased to meet you jam my name is Ian and you must be my name is m pleased to meet you jamic dwarfs his older brother M who at 14 is twice his age but less than half his weight juming you’re taller than your brother and you’re much bigger and stronger as well I think aren’t you why is that there according to his mother nellia jamic eats normally and exercises every day so Ian will have to consider if a hormonal imbalance or genetic condition

can explain janik’s weight Ian’s plan is to observe jamic in his daily life before taking him to Moscow for tests this morning school starts with a PE class for Ian it’s an opportunity to see how jami’s Fitness compares to his classmates [Music] he’s very willing but actually he’s not very [Music] able and I find it quite distressing to see this seven-year-old boy who’s so much larger than all his his friends at school not able to do the same things that they were doing these movements weren’t as sharp they

weren’t as great he couldn’t go down on his hunches he couldn’t move as fast and never saw him breaking sweat because there was no effort to run it was all very sedentary [Music] really but in Math’s class Ian finds that jamic is much more able he is a typical seven-year-old child to me he works hard always puts his hand up even at break times he practicing reading sums I’m pleased to have such a nice boy janik’s assessment by his teacher is important to Ian’s investigation most genetic disorders which cause overgrowth or obesity also cause learning difficulties or abnormalities like unusual head shape or extra Fingers and Toes jambik has none of these telltale signs from what I can see at the moment I’ve got no no reason to suspect any

kind of genetic disorder as such I me his intelligence seems to be normal there’s just nothing else to clue me in to make me think that there’s some genetic disorder after school Ian accompanies the family to the local market where they get a startling reception [Music] a hero a hero [Music] okay Janik size has eared him the nickname sasuko after an ancient hero from local mythology

sasuko was a giant a fierce Warrior who protected his people he embodied qualities people in the Caucasus greatly respect strength and size so so ask ask this lady does he remind her of suo talented meaning a fighter a warrior okay I certainly think that people identify him with this character so ruko they see him as being tough and strong and a a prime example of how a local man should be for free for free he’s a fighter he’s a warrior and it’s such he’s celebrating someone to be looked after and looked up to and and given gifts I don’t think he’s he’s a hero I think he’s a disabled child I

think he’s a kid that needs a lot of help and is in in deep trouble from a health perspective and I think that’s under the surface things are not [Music] good when jambik was born on the 24th of September 1999 he weighed a perfectly normal6 8 O but almost immediately he began to grow twice as fast as he should have done at one year he weighed as much as an average six-year-old of course I was worried about him gaining so much weight and the doctors were amazed that a child could wait so much at just one year [Music]

old there seemed no explanation at 2 years he weighed as much as an average 9-year-old and by three as much as an average 12-year-old local people whispered he was like one of the legendary Giants of the past in our ancient mid there was a hero called suo a boy who grew bigger hour by hour so jig was naturally compared to him [Music] today the most visible symbol of the sasuko myth in cabardino balaria is a restaurant named after the warrior and built in the shape of his head the family take Ian for supper There Ian is uncomfortable with nelia’s assessment of her son’s Fitness and

suspects that jambik is almost certainly overeating I’m intrigued by his food intake because according to what mom’s telling me he’s consuming something like 2,000 calories a day but to justify his physique it needs to be somewhere approximating 3,000 a day so now why why do you think if the boys eat the same and exercise the same that that one is so slate and one is is so large why does jambik have so much more weight okay he’s just different but as the meal continues it becomes obvious to Ian that although janik’s brother Muka has a healthy appetite it is not as big as jambik now for the first time nellia asks Ian a question I I’ve seen a lot of very large

children I think jambik is probably just about the biggest child that I’ve seen so far Ian’s investigations have told him that jamic is probably eating too much and exercising too little but none of this alone can explain why this seven-year-old boy weighs 16 Stone it’s all leading Ian to wonder whether nellia has any real incentive to reduce janik’s weight gain what I’ve seen so far as a seven-year-old boy who does normal seveny old things although kids want attention they also actually want to be like the rest of the pals they want to be accepted as one of the one of the gang and he’s clearly not one of the

game I’m coming in oh that’s nice actually who is really unfit I’m not so sure that he’s eating healthy all the time as his mom says that he’s as physically active as she says because quite honestly the the evidence just doesn’t support those statements [Music] one of the things I wonder about is whether Mom has another agenda whether there there’s some gain for the family out of jamit being so big simply because it it draws attention and one of her questions to me yesterday was is he the biggest child you’ve ever seen and initially I thought this is because she wants to know if I

can help [Music] in reflection I think it was because she wanted me to reassure her that jamic was indeed the biggest boy in the [Music] [Laughter] world nelia’s troubles began long before jambik was born she grew up in an impoverished Village during the Dying Years of the Soviet Empire she’s twice divorced the second time her husband left her for another woman when she was 7 months pregnant with jambik nellia is sure she knows why it so happens that they use black

magic to get husbands to leave their families that was what happened the woman and her mother Put a Spell on my husband and he forgot that I was pregnant that I was due to give birth he forgot about everything as a single mother in a traditional Islamic culture nellia was in danger of becoming an outcast in a town with 90% unemployment and with no means of financial support she and her sons might even starve I was very worried about the fact that we were living in a communal flood we had two rooms then and I didn’t have a [Music] job but then janik’s Fame began to spread his status as the biggest boy in

the world has made him a global celebrity he has been on Russian national TV Czech and Georgian TV and on Germany’s most popular news show he’s even been flown to Japan to be on TV he likes being filmed and he’s never been against it since around the age of three jamic has been weightlifting and wrestling popular sports amongst boys in the Caucasus now his life’s ambition is to be a sumo [Music] wrestler

[Music] much our hope is that jic will provide the secure future for our family and I must say that what we have now we have thanks to [Music] jic Ian Campbell is less optimistic unless jambik loses waight soon he is convinced that the boy will soon succumb to life-threatening illnesses like heart disease and type 2 diabetes Ian needs to find out what tests have been carried out on jambik so far he’s arranged to meet the specialist responsible for jamic at the local Children’s

Hospital Dr yena dhova is just as concerned about janik’s health as Ian is in 2003 she referred janic to a specialist Hospital in Moscow nellia took him to Moscow but didn’t turn up for the appointment the doctor explained to me that it was simply his Constitution he looked at us and he said that in cabardino balaria there are such Warriors and that jambik was one of those people who had been born a [Music]

warrior Dr disover then produces notes of tests performed in 2003 which show that when he was three janik’s bones developed from normal to those of a 7-year-old in the space of 6 months [Music] although there are rare genetic conditions that result in accelerated bone age in children Ian is aware that one possible cause is anabolic steroids my question really is do you think that Mom is doing something to jamic to make him so big so that the family can earn money from [Music]

it right now I’m feeling a bit nauseous I’m shaken by the implications of what I’ve heard I think at some point we need to confront nellia that there’s some suspicion just looking at the evidence that he’s been given anabolic steroids to get him into this situation that that will is already causing problems and will ultimately lead to very significant disease and I think his future is very Bleak if the status quo were to [Music] me jamic hatov weighs 16 stone at just 7 years old with his mother nellia and

14-year-old brother Muka he sets off for Moscow to have extensive medical tests British obesity expert Dr Ian Campbell is investigating jami’s case he will deliver them to the Specialists who will conduct the tests [Music] [Music] jambik nellia and Muka are staying at one of moscow’s most famous hotels a 1950s skyscraper built under

Stalin it’s a far cry from their apartment in the [Music] Caucasus the [Applause] nellia is equally excited by the opportunities that Moscow offers for advancing janik’s sporting and celebrity [Music] career I hope that in Moscow some producer or trainer will meet with jambik and take him under his wing and mold his career for the future [Music] nellia is not expecting that the tests will provide any new insights into janik’s [Music] condition I don’t think my child is ill or unhealthy he’s a simply a unique person and if others think otherwise that’s up to them Dr Ian Campbell is concerned that

nellia doesn’t appreciate how serious janik’s health problems are I think unfortunately all the pointers that I’ve had so far would indicate that she’s got no desire to change her current situation whatsoever I think she’s got no desire to change jambags physical state I think there’s too much to be gained from continuing this way I think in a cultural in a financial sense there’s a heck of a lot for her and her boys to lose and I think at this point that’s a greater force I think my job is to sensitively point out to her

the repercussions of of of of of continuing as we are and somewhere somehow we’ve got to convey the message to NAIA that what she’s doing may be killing the [Music] boy Ian has arranged for the test to take place at Russia’s leading Private Hospital Dr Natalia Bova is a pediatric geneticist there she’s agreed to help Ian and to carry out the medical tests on jamic she meets up with him at the hotel where he explains the difficulties of the case one of the first things that I would say is that some of the things I might discuss with you are probably best not shared with his mom mhm and so there are certain things which it might be better to keep from her at the moment do you understand that yeah absolutely okay she’s only asked me Ian takes Dr belova

through the medical data and explains his observations about the family I think that with the information we have we may rule out some most common genetic syndromes probably mother uh was happy with uh additional attention to this child she might do some things to keep him in this condition yeah uh and if it’s possible I would check for anabolic steroids have you ever come across anabolic steroids been used in children before yes it’s not the first case I would have test done and after that maybe we can see what we can do to improve the situation because it’s rather critical for the child right now the doctors agree on a comprehensive

range of tests to try to solve the mystery of janik’s growth once and for all to meet you J however for the time being Ian must return to his patients in Britain and this is he’ll be back once he has the results from janik’s [Music] tests by J take care okay see you [Music] sheay as Ian heads off to the airport jamic faces a gruelling day at Dr bova’s exclusive private Clinic there he is starved of food during the tests which last for 8 hours Dr bova’s Clinic is the most

state-of-the-art in Russia this is the best chance to date of establishing why this seven-year-old boy weighs so much [Applause] very one thing that’s immediately clear is that janik’s heart is struggling to support his body and doctors warn nellia against making him do any strenuous exercise you can see for yourself how hard it is

for me whether it’s good or bad having a child like that on the one hand it’s good having a special child but on the other hand at times like this it can be really difficult [Music] [Music] from x-rays Dr Bova notices the advanced bone Age first identified by janik’s local doctors she decides to talk to nellia about it for spe

the tests are finished back home in Britain Ian receives the test results there’s no conclusive proof of steroid abuse or a gen IC disorder although x-rays do show that janik’s bone development is that of a 13-year-old for Ian this is a significant finding something other than just simple morbid obesity is happening here the X-ray shows increased bone age of about the age of a 12 or 13y old that may also be explained by the regular use of anabolic steroids somewhere between the ages of 2 and a half and three something changed and the only thing that I can think of that could last for a short period of time and then be

stopped is not a medical phenomenon it’s an anabolic steroids phenomenon and I may be wrong but at this point I can’t explain it in any other way as a doctor I assume that what I’m told is the truth what I assume is that people have a desire to make things better and then I’m presented with all the evidence and yet so much of this conflicts so much of it just doesn’t tie up what I do know is that the use of anabolic steroids in children this young is not an unknown phenomenon in this part of Russia and that in many ways would make all the pieces of the puzzle [Music] fit although a steroid test on jambik shows up negative in practice it’s difficult completely to rule out the use of steroids as all traces of the drugs leave the body 2

weeks after being taken neither can the tests rule out a genetic disorder meanwhile whilst they wait for the results the family are making the most of their time in Moscow despite warnings from Dr bovera that jambik shouldn’t do strenuous exercise nellia takes him to the best sumo Club in Russia the Doctor Who examined us last time he recommended taking up sumo we don’t have the test results back from yesterday is soo early to [Music] judge doctors want to cut him off from society I don’t as his mother I want him to make

the most of all life has [Applause] to after the session the Sumo trainer tells nellia that he’s so impressed by jamic that he’ll try and arrange sponsorship there’s we hope that he will bring honor to our country in the future we hope that life will be better than now that CH Big Dreams will come true or I can make them come true [Music] hours open what did that

[Music] happen Dr Ian Campbell has returned to Moscow with the test results in order to make one final attempt to persuade nellia that whatever the cause her son is dangerously unhealthy and must lose [Music] weight but he’s expecting that she’ll be very hard to convince I think what I’d like to do with noia is present her with the facts about janik’s current state of health and help her realize that she’s pretty much the only person that’s in a position to help him what’s most important is to is to go

from this point forward to see what we can do to help janic to resolve the situation because what I’ve seen is a mother who who who loves her son I think if she will open up to that possibility then maybe maybe she’ll decides that things need to change [Music] Dr Ian Campbell has returned to Moscow for a final meeting with nellia kabakova mother of jamic the 7-year-old boy who weighs 16 Stone despite no conclusive evidence Dr

Campbell thinks that the most likely cause of jamic 16 Stone bulk is anabolic steroid abuse but most pressing is that nellia refuses to accept that jamic is dangerously [Music] unhealthy how is M this time before he can present with his findings Ian goes to Dr Belo to discuss anabolic steroids in the light of the recent test results it turns out that she’s revised her opinions I thought about it now I don’t think it’s likely I saw many children with uh Advanced born age due to genetic syndromes and so that’s why I think that um maybe genetic reasons are more likely

so that’s actually all I I have to say unfortunately I cannot uh say that well I know what is it I do not know what is this I I I can only guess Dr Bova believes that if jambik was being given steroids then these should have triggered early puberty but Ian has consulted specialists in Britain and understands that a short course of steroids could trigger rapid growth without any of these side effects although he can’t prove this is what happened in janik’s case in the end jambik may just have a unique condition as nellia has always maintained I’m his mother I know best what needs to be done for him different doctors take different views

and I can listen to all the advice doctors do agree that whatever its cause jami’s weight is seriously harming his health and that nellia must be persuaded to make him lose weight Ian resolves one last time to try to convince [Music] her jambik and Muka have never been on a boat before so Ian decides to take the family on a tourist boat that cruises up and down the Moscow River it’s very hard for me I’ve met nellia it’s very hard for me to think that some something wrong has been done here I don’t see this as a mom who is willfully harming a son I think it may be the case of a mom

who’s doing what she thinks is in the best interest of both her sons and herself to give them a better chance in life the boat is not just for jambik and mooka’s benefit we’ll be able to sit down in a an enclosed space in privacy and it’s it’s somewhere where if you know if the situation does get a bit heat then there’s no room for either of us to storm off and we’ll we’ll have to [Music] talk when I put all the evidence together what it makes me think as that is that jamb is a boy who is likely to be obese in any case because of his Constitution but who in all probability at some point has been given something

to make him bigger and stronger and and it made me think that possibly around about the age of 2 and 1 half to three he’d been given anabolic steroids to promote that [Music] gr okay is it is it at all possible conceivable that the coach when he goes to train could be giving himself okay fine fine um it’s very important to me that that that I get from you some kind of understanding that his health is seriously at risk I don’t think at this point he

should be training to be a sumo wrestler is too dangerous what needs to do is to become much fitter first and then at some point maybe because of his strength move into some form of exercise and that’s why I’m really urging you to to maybe you do need to get professional help I know you want to help them you can’t do it on your own but but what I’m confident of is that if that doesn’t happen Jam’s Future doesn’t look very good indeed and he will become very sick very soon yeah abolutely [Music] [Music] [Music]

no change him God created him so big that’s why he’s big that is probably correct it’s the end of Dr Campbell’s [Music] Journey he’s now done all he can after a quick goodbye he has no choice but to leave bye J take [Music] care Ian will ensure that his theories are shared with the doctors in janik’s Hometown for the time being that’s it I don’t think there’s anything else I can do actually I don’t think there’s anything else anyone can do I think now is

hell bent on him having a life as a sportsman and I think she’s prepared to do whatever it takes to get him there apart from put his own personal instuction [Music] [Applause] what we haven’t managed to do is turn things around for jamic sake and that’s deeply sad [Music]

the whole media circus that surrounds jambik really just compounds a problem I don’t think it would stop the situation because there’s still something to be gain from him being at least having the appearance of something athletic it suits his local culture but I do think that the media attention to get just feeds the problem and ultimately mix it work I de better [Music] [Laughter] [Music] o [Music] [Applause]

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