While most 17-year-olds are out making friends and looking forward to their adult lives, Khaled Mohsen Al Shaeri was bedridden, too heavy to move. Weighing 609kg, the Saudi Arabian teen had been that way for three years, acquiring the title of The World's Heaviest Teen as he was cut out of his home and airlifted to hospital for treatment. 

According to The Sun, on the orders of Saudi's late King Abdullah who was said to be moved by the young man's plight, Shaeri was rescued by a team of 30 medical and civil defence staff. He was reportedly hoisted up by a forklift and extracted from his home before being taken by medical helicopter to the King Fahd Medical City in the capital of Riyadh. 

Here, according to People magazine, he lost more than half his body weight (546kg) in just six months, following a strict regime which involved a tailored diet and intensive fitness plan. Initially, Shaeri time spent in a custom-made wheelchair to assist with early movement efforts. 

Dr. Aaied al-Qahtani, the head of Shaeri's medical team, told Sayidaty magazine in 2014 that since starting his weight loss journey, Shaeri had presented improved heart and lung function, muscle strength, and had seen reduced inflammation. 

Documenting his incredible weight loss journey, in 2016 he shared video footage showing himself moving around with the aid of a Zimmer frame and in 2018 he is believed to have undergone surgery to remove excess skin. 

Now aged 29, photos show Shaeri presenting a reported 63kg frame, unrecognisable when compared to the 17-year-old trapped in his home and unable to move. 

Khaled Mohsen Al Shaeri, centre, is unrecognisable following his dramatic weight loss. Photo / Saudi Ministry of Health