Eat to live and don't live to eat.

1,300-pound Saudi Arabian man loses half his body weight after king’s order 

Khalid bin Mohsen Shaari has made dramatic progress since being airlifted from his home last August and taken to Riyadh for medical treatment. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia arranged for the treatment in a 'humanitarian gesture.'

Saudi Civil Defense members use a forklift to move Khalid bin Mohsen Shaari from his house in the Saudi city of Jizan on August 19, 2013.

An obese Saudi Arabian man ordered to lose weight by the country's king has reportedly lost more than 700 pounds.

Khalid bin Mohsen Shaari weighed 1,345 pounds and hadn't left his home in nearly three years until last August, when King Abdullah intervened.

RELATED: KING ORDERS 1,345-POUND MAN TO BE AIRLIFTED FROM HOME

© FAISAL NASSER / REUTERS/REUTERS

Shaari (above) weighed nearly 1,350 pounds when King Abdullah arranged for his medical treatment.

Abdullah arranged for Shaari, who is around 20 years old, to be removed from his home by forklifton a specially ordered bed and to be transported from his home in the southern city of Jazan to the capital city of Riyadh for medical treatment. The king authorized part of Shaari's home to be demolished in order to move him.

In a new interview with Sayidaty magazine, Shaari's doctor revealed the young man has lost more than half his body weight since undergoing bariatric surgery at King Fahd Medical City, and that his heart, lungs and muscles are functionally improving.

© FAISAL NASSER / REUTERS/REUTERS

Shaari hadn't left his home in nearly three years due to his disabling weight, and required a crane and forklift to be removed.

Shaari still can't walk on his own and requires a custom-built wheelchair to get around, plus a mechanized pulley to help him into the chair, CNN reported.

Nevertheless, photos show Shaari smiling and flashing a thumbs-up sign. Dr. Abdeljabbar al-Yamani, the hospital's managing director, calls him "the smiling man."

BY TRACY MILLER

 

 

Distance from Saudi Arabia to Somalia is  just 2086 kilometers. See the difference. Like this we do come across people who spend millions of dollars to reduce their weight. Millions suffer for a morel of food. Should this be allowed to continue? Can't we care and share?

Thought for the Day from THE HINDU:

" We watch the rapidly flowing water of a river and admire its force. But do we pause to think about what the flowing river indicates?

It is a metaphor for the impermanence of life. The water is not stagnant, but keeps running all the time. In fact, Nature shows us the impermanence of life in many ways. We see clouds in the sky, which keep moving. Furthermore, they keep changing shape. We see a tree flower, bear fruit, and then observe the ripe fruits drop to the ground.

There are other examples one can give of the temporary nature of our earthly sojourn. We build huge houses only to find them crumbling sixty years down the line.

A Tamil poet said great buildings become ruins, turning the resting place for donkeys.

Man, too, must realise that the wealth or the status he enjoys in life is not going to last forever, said Malayaman, in a discourse. These may give joy while we possess them. But the loss of these possessions will be hard to bear.

The Tamil work, Naladiyar, gives an example to show us that we must not be fussy about anything.

A rich man rejects the food his wife offered as not being to his liking. But later, when he loses his wealth, he walks long distances to beg for a handful of gruel.

Another Tamil work says a rich man rides an elephant. A servant stands behind him, shielding him from the sun with an umbrella. Suddenly the rich man becomes poor. Gone are the elephant and the servant; he finds it difficult to walk, for he is unaccustomed to doing so.

It is not just our possessions that are lost easily. This body too is just a temporary shelter for the soul, and it too will perish one day. Our youth is like the arrow in a bow. It leaves us at the speed at which an arrow flies off a bow towards its target. In our case, the end is death.

Wealth flows away like the water of a river, and this human body is as lasting as letters written on water. If we realise this, we will contemplate on God, use what wealth we have to help others and leave the world happily when our time comes.