Chinese toddler reaches 9st 6lb

A toddler from China has tipped the scales at 9st 6lb, making him around five times as heavy as he should be.

Three-year-old Lu Hao has been banned from nursery over fears that he may injure other youngsters because of his large size, the Sun reports.

The tot's mother Chen Huan revealed that he cries "non-stop" if his meals are restricted.

Despite efforts to reduce his portion sizes, the child has gained more than a stone in the last year.

"His appetite is so good that for a meal he can eat three big bowls of rice, even larger than I and his mother," his father Lu Yuncheng told the newspaper.

Sun doctor Dr Carol Cooper said the youngster is at risk of developing joint damage, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart problems.

"The simplest explanation is that Lu Hao's family have fed him far more than he needs.

"Children learn all their habits from their parents. Now that Lu Hao is huge as well as wilful, his demands for more and more food are hard to resist," she added.