When Jessica Leonard was born, she was a completely healthy baby, like any other child. No one could have predicted that in the coming years she would become the heaviest seven-year-old child. Weighing in at a staggering 200 kilograms, Jessica became something of a celebrity and her name was heard all over the media, but unfortunately for reasons that made her early years hell. Jessica’s mother, Caroline Shu Tug, remembers the first years of her daughter’s life when she was a happy girl and a very healthy one. However, according to her, things took a wrong turn when Jessica never refused anything when she was offered food. Loved by everyone in the family, perhaps even more than necessary, she was pampered and everyone would indulge her requests for fast food, a variety of snacks, cupcakes from the pastry shops, chips and nuts from supermarkets.

Jessica would have all of these things in fairly large quantities. Although her parents can’t remember when the situation spiraled out of control, they remember it was a wake-up call for her when the scales showed she weighed 220 kilograms at just 7 years old and was having trouble breathing. When she was rushed to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital in critical condition, Child Protective Services finally took notice. Jessica was aired on a show and presented as a curiosity. Her mother pleaded for help, and her pleas were heard by renowned dietitians and nutritionists. In an effort to maintain whatever progress her daughter would hopefully make in the clinic, Carolyn was also asked to attend parenting classes so that she could help her daughter stay on track once she was healthy enough to to return home. Jessica was sent to a clinic where she started a fight for every calorie she ate.

Doctors realized that her problem with food was that she had become psychologically dependent on it. When Jessica arrived at the clinic, she could not understand why she was refused food, which until then she had received from her family with a smile on her face. It was long months of diet, exercise, psychological treatment and strong will that helped Jessica lose a significant amount of weight. The next time the world heard from her, she had lost 300 pounds.

After losing the weight, Jessica also underwent skin removal surgery where doctors removed over 10kg of excess skin from her body. Today, Jessica resembles a completely different person. She is very active, looks slim and does gymnastics and basketball. She eats healthy and leads a healthy lifestyle. Please SHARE this article with your family and friends on Facebook.