MUMBAI: She stands in front of a bedroom mirror, colour-coordinates her dress and makeup, and steps out into the living room of her Vasai bungalow. After eight long years.

Amita Rajani (42) recently got back to her feet after being confined to bed since 2007 with a genetic condition that caused her weight to touch 300kg.

Once a businesswoman, Rajani underwent bariatric surgery, more specifically laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, this April. It brought down her weight to 183kg. She is still losing it.

“Amita’s is a classic case of ‘super super morbid obesity’. She had the highest circumference at 100 inches among any Indian and her body mass index was over 100,” said bariatric surgeon Dr Shashank Shah who operated on her in Pune. The BMI of an average person should be 18-23. The circumference should be less than 80cm.

Plastic surgeon Dr Ravin Thatte said obesity cannot be linked to lifestyle alone. “This seems to be more of a genetic problem.”

Amita, the youngest in a joint family of 28, weighed a normal 3kg at birth. At six, she began to gain weight. “By the time I reached Class X, I weighed 128kg.” Her mother Mamta (top right pic, with Amita) blames heredity. Amita’s grandmother weighed 250kg. Her father Avinash underwent a weight loss surgery four decades ago. When he died in November last year, he was 95kg.

Amita was initially averse to surgery, as her weight did not stop her from running a soft toy factory in Vasai. She would board a train at Vasai and travel to distant Crawford Market. Stares and remarks did not bother her. “Since I was going about life like any normal person, surgery was not on my mind,” said the science graduate.

By 2007, her weight crossed 200kg. Her feet and hands began to swell. She had trouble breathing and was left with only one functional kidney. She could not get up without the support of four-five people. What was more devastating for her was performing all her bodily functions in bed. Dr Shah said, “When I first saw her picture, I could not see the sofa on which she was seated.”

MUMBAI: She stands in front of a bedroom mirror, colour-coordinates her dress and makeup, and steps out into the living room of her Vasai bungalow. After eight long years.

Amita Rajani (42) recently got back to her feet after being confined to bed since 2007 with a genetic condition that caused her weight to touch 300kg.

Once a businesswoman, Rajani underwent bariatric surgery, more specifically laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, this April. It brought down her weight to 183kg. She is still losing it.

“Amita’s is a classic case of ‘super super morbid obesity’. She had the highest circumference at 100 inches among any Indian and her body mass index was over 100,” said bariatric surgeon Dr Shashank Shah who operated on her in Pune. The BMI of an average person should be 18-23. The circumference should be less than 80cm.

Plastic surgeon Dr Ravin Thatte said obesity cannot be linked to lifestyle alone. “This seems to be more of a genetic problem.”

Amita, the youngest in a joint family of 28, weighed a normal 3kg at birth. At six, she began to gain weight. “By the time I reached Class X, I weighed 128kg.” Her mother Mamta (top right pic, with Amita) blames heredity. Amita’s grandmother weighed 250kg. Her father Avinash underwent a weight loss surgery four decades ago. When he died in November last year, he was 95kg.

Amita was initially averse to surgery, as her weight did not stop her from running a soft toy factory in Vasai. She would board a train at Vasai and travel to distant Crawford Market. Stares and remarks did not bother her. “Since I was going about life like any normal person, surgery was not on my mind,” said the science graduate.

By 2007, her weight crossed 200kg. Her feet and hands began to swell. She had trouble breathing and was left with only one functional kidney. She could not get up without the support of four-five people. What was more devastating for her was performing all her bodily functions in bed. Dr Shah said, “When I first saw her picture, I could not see the sofa on which she was seated.”