Boy, 11, who weighs 23 stone set ON FIRE in terrifying therapy as part of desperate bid to get him to lose weight

Life

A young obese boy who weighs 23 stone has been set on fire in a bizarre bid to lose weight.

Li Hang, 11, is said to be undergoing the traditional Chinese medicine treatment after his weight ballooned while suffering a rare condition from the age of three.

The treatment includes fire cupping, fire therapy - known as 'huo liao' - and acupuncture.

Photographs of the treatment show the youngster screaming in terror as a doctor lights up towels on top of his bare bulging tummy.

It is being carried out on the boy at Changchun Kangda Hospita, Changchun city, in the northeastern Chinese province of Jilin.

Specialising in slimming treatments, Changchun Kangda Hospital employs various Chinese medicine practices including Baguan (fire cupping), fire therapy and acupuncture to treat their patients, of which seven out of its 53 overweight patients are children.

Li, of Harbin city, weighed 6.7 stone at age four, the website reported, about 2.5 times the weight of other children that age.

He suffers Prader-Willi Syndrome, a rare disorder involving obsessive eating, learning difficulties and growth abnormalities.