Touching Story: Obese sisters walk unaided for the first time after shedding some of their colossal weight.

This is the touching first moment that two morbidly obese sisters walked together unaided for the first time after losing some of the massive weight that has hindered their young lives.

Yogita Rameshbhai Nandwana, 5, and Amisha, 3, finally took their first steps without help after specialists put them on a restrictive diet because their parents were so concerned for their health.

Just three months ago, they weighed 5st 5lbs and 7st 8lbs respectively, and were unable to do anything for themselves.

They have managed to each lose six kg after departing from their daily diet of 18 chapatis, 3lbs of rice, two bowls of broth, six packets of crisps, five packs of biscuits, 12 bananas and a litre of milk.

Their brother, Harsh, who weighed 2st 5lbs when he was just 18 months old, has also been on a diet to try and curb his obesity.

Their constantly increasing weight got so concerning to their impoverished father, Rameshbhai Nandwana, 34, who earns just £35 a month, considered selling a kidney to pay for medical help.

He said: ‘If my kids continue to grow at this rapid rate they will have major health issues. We’re terrified they will die.'

But now the three children are finally making progress and the family help it will change their lives in the long term.

The three children's extreme hunger meant their mother Pragna Ben, 30, spendt most of her day making their meals.

Before the diet started, she said: ‘My day starts with making 30 chapatis and 1kg vegetable curry in the morning. After that I am again in the kitchen preparing more food.'

We started looking for medical help and consulted many doctors but they would just refer us to bigger hospitals that I couldn’t afford.’

Mr Nandwana earns just Rs 3000 (£35) a month - but usually has sufficient money to buy enough food to fulfil the large appetite of his children.

He said: ‘I am a daily wage labour and I usually get paid Rs 100 a day but there are times when there is no work at all.

‘I work in fields, dig wells, and do whatever menial job I can find to earn money. 

'And I’m constantly worried about finding the money to feed my continually hungry children.’

Despite his paltry income, Mr Nandwana spends about Rs 10,000 (£110) a month on food for his children and said he 'cannot leave them starving'

He added: ‘If I don’t have the money, I borrow it from my brothers and friends. But I make sure I feed my children when they need.’

The father has spent Rs 50,000 (£540) on seeing doctors and treatment over the last three years – without any improvement in his children’s condition.

He said: ‘No one in our family has a giant frame. Only my children are overweight. As parents, it pains us immensely to see them unable to move.

‘They cannot walk; they cannot do anything on their own. Selling my kidney is a desperate measure. But I’m now desperate to get the right help for my children.’

Miss Ben cannot pick up her children so she has to watch them roll around when her husband is at work - or use a trolley to pull them around.

She said: ‘They need me to help them bathor when they need the toilet. I’m only 40 kg so it’s impossible for me to pick them up.

‘It’s a struggle when my husband is at work. 

'They are usually restricted to the same place for the whole day and because of that, they cannot go to school.

All they do all day is eat and play and giggle with each other.  

'I want my daughters to get an education and play like other kids. I want them to have a life. This is no life.’

Local doctors believe the children are suffering from Prader-Willi syndrome, but do not know how to treat it.

The rare genetic condition causes various symptoms including constant hunger, reduced muscle tone, restricted growth and learning difficulties.

Dr Akshay Mandavia, a paediatrician at Mandavia Children's Hospital in Gujarat, said: ‘There is an abnormal accumulation of fat in these children.

‘They’re not able to breathe properly, and they wheeze. Their condition could be due to endocrinal disease or Prader-Willi syndrome.

‘But we can only ascertain the right treatment after a proper diagnosis at one of our top hospitals.’
MailOnline.