Liam Hoekstra is your typical 19 month old. He likes to eat. He eats all the time. A full meal every hour. Liam has myostatin-related muscle hypertrophy and he's strong as an ox.
Amazing since the toddler has overcome medical odds since birth.
Liam was born four weeks early to a troubled mother who put him up for adoption. His beginnings were filled with a host of medical problems; a small hole in his heart, eczema, enlarged kidneys, was lactose intolerant and had severe stomach reflux that made him vomit several times each day. Luck was with him though when he was adopted by by the Hoekstras. Dad Neil's a physician assistant and mom Dana is devoted to her little Hulk.
Liam healed quickly. The only problem for his parents was how very hungry he was and how he didn't gain weight quickly. His doctor found an answer why. Myostatin-related muscle hypertrophy of his leg, calf and arm muscles as well as increased strength. Simply put Liam is all muscle and very little body fat. He weighs a mere 22 pounds. Thankfully the condition doesn't affect the heart and has no known negative side effects.
Myostatin-related muscle hypertrophy was first discovered in beef cattle and mice in the late 1990s. In 2000 a German bay was diagnosed with it. The condition is so rare that doctors have no idea how many people have it. A genetic mutation prevents some people from producing myostatin.
Without body fat normal a child's growth can be stunted and the central nervous system can be impaired Infants need fat to learn.
"He's hungry for a full meal about every hour because of his rapid metabolism," Dana Hoekstra said. "He's already eating me out of house and home."
The hardest part of parenting their little muscle man is getting enough protein into him. Liam eats six full size meals a day and still struggles to gain weight.
"Liam's never had any body fat," his mother said. "The only fat he has is in his cheeks."
At nineteen months old he can do inverted sit ups. His little belly is a six pack that men would envy.
"When you've got that kind of power and that kind of strength, the world is open to you,"Dr. Larson said. "He's agile because he's so strong -- when you've got that incredible power as a kid you're going to try a lot more things."
Liam's dad just hopes someday he plays for the his beloved University of Michigan football team.
I love hearing about stuff like this. It makes one really believe if some legendary strongmen may have had a similar condition. Of course, the fact that the kid eats almost nonstop is unsettling, but imagine if such a condition could be deliberately INDUCED in an embryo?
Possibilities = Beyond what we ever imagined.
Stuart: The only problem is, I'm losing track of which universe I'm in.
You kinda look like Jesus. With a lightsaber.- Peregrin Toker
I've heard of this condition before, and I recall that there may be problems healing if he gets injured. The idea is that the out-of-control hypertrophy is consuming his lifetime reserve of stem cells right now, so it'll be harder to repair those beefed up muscles in future.
*Whacks CaptainChewbacca with a fish* You did mention it...
The biggest problem I can see will be with him getting adequate nutrition. Getting sick could be very problematic, especially if he has trouble holding food down for a prolonged period of time. Pulling through the first time was luck.
Sig images are for people who aren't fucking lazy.
I don't see why anybody should be envious of this kid. Since his body doesn't store fat, he could easily lose consciousness if he doesn't constantly eat. If he's ever trapped somewhere without food, he'll probably be unconscious within hours and dead in a day or two, whereas the rest of us could last a week and be conscious the whole time (hence able to do something about it).
"It's not evil for God to do it. Or for someone to do it at God's command."- Jonathan Boyd on baby-killing
"you guys are fascinated with the use of those "rules of logic" to the extent that you don't really want to discussus anything."- GC
"I do not believe Russian Roulette is a stupid act" - Embracer of Darkness
"Viagra commercials appear to save lives" - tharkûn on US health care.
ray245 wrote:Is it possible to let him store some fats at the least?
Yes, it's called a backpack. He'll be carrying a lot of power bars, drinks and sugars with him in the future.
Mike is right, although if there are no extra complications he's not that much worse than, for example, someone who needs insulin everyday. He'll need to plan his life carefully and still hope that the shit never really hits the fan.
The hardest part of parenting their little muscle man is getting enough protein into him. Liam eats six full size meals a day and still struggles to gain weight.
Huh? What about protein shakes? They seem to be tailored made for his situation, taste OK and are filling. Make an advertisement deal with a company, or buy in bulk, or something.
Maybe this is what Louis Cyr had? Could have explained how he got his strength. But then again his family were all on the very strong end.
ASVS('97)/SDN('03)
"Whilst human alchemists refer to the combustion triangle, some of their orcish counterparts see it as more of a hexagon: heat, fuel, air, laughter, screaming, fun." Dawn of the Dragons
In case anyone had any doubts as to their mindset, a google of this story sees it repeating on a number of bodybuilding websites, complete with muscle freaks wondering how they can get in on it.
Note: I'm semi-retired from the board, so if you need something, please be patient.
I could easily see someone like this being the basis for at least part of the Hercules myth. The part about strangling two snakes when he was still a baby.
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Although the article makes a point of mentioning how the lack of fat in a child could cause problems with the development of his central nervous system they don't mention that they were trying to do anything to deal with this problem. Even the brief quote from the father is all about the kid's strength and kind of implies that the child gets into more trouble for his age because of his abnormal strength and agility.
Without more information about his diet, other than the 6 meals a day, or any treatment of his condition what I get from the article is that the kid might be super strong but he could end up being shorter than he could be and may not be as smart as he could be because of the lack of fat in his body.
I wonder if any of the muscle freaks on the websites Lagmonster mentions are concerned about the other health risks. I mean, who wouldn't want to be able to grow up ripped without having to exercise excessively? Well, I wouldn't if it meant that the rest of me, especially my if it's my mind, that's going to suffer.
By the pricking of my thumb,
Something wicked this way comes.
Open, locks,
Whoever knocks.
While there are many who seem to be crowing about the "advantages" of this kid - in our modern civilization he does seem to have a few - they fail to see while this trait would have been a liability historically and why evoluation probably selected against it.
After all, periodic famine was a feature of most of human history. It's all very well to have the strength of Hercules - until the farmers have a bad year. Extraordinary strength does you little good if you start 2-3 times faster than average. Remember, evolution isn't about the individual, it's about how many of the individual's offspring live to reproduce. A whimpy weakling that can survice famine and drought and leaves several kids wins in the evolution game over a super-strong man who leaves none.
So he requires little exercise to maintain muscle mass and requires a high caloric intake - my goodness he does seem suited to a sedentary 21st Century life subsisting on junk food and video games! But for most of human history he would have faced real problems
As for fats/oils required for growth - the average Western/industrialized diet provides lots, likely enough to compensate for his physical needs. Particuarly as he is male, having a low percentage of body fat won't necessarially be a liability.
A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory.Leonard Nimoy.
Now I did a job. I got nothing but trouble since I did it, not to mention more than a few unkind words as regard to my character so let me make this abundantly clear. I do the job. And then I get paid.- Malcolm Reynolds, Captain of Serenity, which sums up my feelings regarding the lawsuit discussed here.
If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. - John F. Kennedy
Darth Wong wrote:I don't see why anybody should be envious of this kid. Since his body doesn't store fat, he could easily lose consciousness if he doesn't constantly eat. If he's ever trapped somewhere without food, he'll probably be unconscious within hours and dead in a day or two, whereas the rest of us could last a week and be conscious the whole time (hence able to do something about it).
Actually, having had an episode of starvation earlier this year, a week without food (provided one remained adequately hydrated) will leave you thinner, but you should have no problem maintaining conciousness and the ability to function on a basic level. In fact, most of us could go 2-3 weeks without food before the situation became critical (of course, it varies based on physical activity as well as the ambient temperature, cold in particular requiring the body to burn more energy). Of course, yes, you'll be incredibly crabby and bitchy and ready to eat just about anything. Including other people, in many instances. It would not in any way be pleasent. But people more resilient than most would think.
A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory.Leonard Nimoy.
Now I did a job. I got nothing but trouble since I did it, not to mention more than a few unkind words as regard to my character so let me make this abundantly clear. I do the job. And then I get paid.- Malcolm Reynolds, Captain of Serenity, which sums up my feelings regarding the lawsuit discussed here.
If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. - John F. Kennedy
Broomstick wrote:
After all, periodic famine was a feature of most of human history. It's all very well to have the strength of Hercules - until the farmers have a bad year. Extraordinary strength does you little good if you start 2-3 times faster than average. Remember, evolution isn't about the individual, it's about how many of the individual's offspring live to reproduce. A whimpy weakling that can survice famine and drought and leaves several kids wins in the evolution game over a super-strong man who leaves none.
Well, no, not really. The strongman would simply join his local lord's guard, become a local legend (you know, can eat an ox in a single sitting and all that) and take whatever food he wanted from the peasants. While periodic famines were common during human history, the leaders and nobility always had plenty to eat. It wouldn't work today, because we have guns now and it's more important for a warrior to be fit, smart and lean than strong.
That might have worked during the middle ages, or some other feudal period and place, but most of human history we lived as gatherers and hunters and in times of want there would have been little or nothing to take from others. 5,000 years of agricultural societies able to store plenty for hard times does not make up for the prior 100,000 or 150,000 years of human history.
A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory.Leonard Nimoy.
Now I did a job. I got nothing but trouble since I did it, not to mention more than a few unkind words as regard to my character so let me make this abundantly clear. I do the job. And then I get paid.- Malcolm Reynolds, Captain of Serenity, which sums up my feelings regarding the lawsuit discussed here.
If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. - John F. Kennedy
Broomstick wrote:That might have worked during the middle ages, or some other feudal period and place, but most of human history we lived as gatherers and hunters and in times of want there would have been little or nothing to take from others. 5,000 years of agricultural societies able to store plenty for hard times does not make up for the prior 100,000 or 150,000 years of human history.
Well, yeah. It's obvious this thing wasn't much of an advantage, seeing how rare it is today. On the other hand, before the first agrarian revolution, famine was more the default state of things rather than a periodic occurence
