At 17 kgs, eight-month-old Indian baby baffles doctors and parents

An Indian baby girl is worrying doctors and her family due to her ballooning weight. (Photo courtesy: Barcroft Media)
Updated 14 April 2017
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At 17 kgs, eight-month-old Indian baby baffles doctors and parents

DUBAI: An Indian baby girl is worrying doctors and her family due to her ballooning weight.
At eight-months-old, Chahat Kumar, from Punjab in India, weighs roughly 17 kilograms.
Doctors, claims the Daily Mail, are confused as to what is causing her appetite while her mother Reena Kumar, 21, told local media: “She doesn’t eat like a normal kid. She keeps eating all the time. If we don’t give her anything to eat, she starts crying.”
According to Barcroft Media, her father Suraj Kumar, 23, said: “When Chahat was born, she was completely normal. Then, slowly we saw that her weight was shooting up.
“It’s not our fault. God gave this condition to her. It’s not in our hands. I feel bad when some people laugh at her for being fat.”
The child also suffers from abnormally hard skin, according to the family’s doctor.
Dr. Vasudev Sharma is worried about the child’s growth.
“Her weight is increasing excessively and it has to be controlled. She has to eat less. She eats like a 10-year-old kid,” he said, according to The Sun.
Medical experts are facing barriers in determining the cause of the health issue as blood testing is proving difficult.
“We have tried it many times. Her skin is so hard that we can’t ever diagnose her condition,” the doctor said.


Chef serves up a taste of Spain at Ithra Cultural Days in Saudi Arabia 

Updated 20 January 2026
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Chef serves up a taste of Spain at Ithra Cultural Days in Saudi Arabia 

DHAHRAN: Among the attractions of the Ithra Cultural Days: Spain at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra), visitors can try a tantalizing selection of Spanish foods — none more renowned than its famous paella. 

Arab News spoke with chef Jose Zafra at the event, which runs until Jan. 31, who flew in from Spain to offer a taste of his homeland to the people of Saudi Arabia. 

A “master rice cook, paella researcher and promoter,” according to his business card, his logo is even designed around the recognizable cooking pan and the phrase “Pasion por la paella,” or “Passion for paella.”

“That's why the pan is round because people get around and eat all together — to share culture and passion and life,” Zafra told Arab News as foodies lined up behind him, eager to try a plateful.

Arab News spoke with chef Jose Zafra at the event, which runs until Jan. 31. (Supplied)

“It’s not just a food. It’s a link, a connection. Paella is the symbol of unity and sharing. And people now are going to try it — authentic Spanish paella in Saudi Arabia.”

The word “paella” comes from the Latin “patella,” meaning pan.

In Spanish, it refers both to the rice dish itself and the pan in which it is cooked.

Paella was introduced to Spain during Moorish rule. It originated in Valencia, on the country’s eastern coast, as a rural peasant dish that was cooked by farm workers over open fires using local ingredients. Over time, the dish’s popularity spread and other versions evolved, for example featuring seafood and meat.

It is different to Saudi Arabia’s kabsa, a communal dish which similarly uses rice and meat. Kabsa is cooked in a deep pot to ensure the rice stays soft and aromatic from the meaty broth, whereas paella uses a wide, shallow pan to fully absorb flavors evenly, often creating a prized crispy layer at the bottom. 

Visitors to Ithra’s Culture Days can enjoy the flavors of Spain made with a sprinkling of local love — true to the origins of the dish.

Find the scoops of Spanish joy near the food truck area and try chicken paella, seafood paella —or both! You will see the signs offering a plate, at SR35 ($9) for chicken and SR40 for seafood, or let your nose lead you there.

Zafra concluded: “The chicken is from here, the seafood is from here — and the passion, well, that is from Spain.”