Asia's Tallest Woman and her Tallest Child

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Weighing in at a burly 7 stone and standing 4ft 5in tall, two-and-a-half-year-old Karan Singh is believed to be the tallest toddler in the world.

Almost the same height as his 10-year-old neighbours in Meerut, India, Karan is twice the size of children his own age - and his giant mum believes this is just the start.

Dwarfing her husband, 7ft 2in Shweatlana Singh is Asia's tallest woman, and the proud mum is praying her baby outgrows her.

Towering twos: Two and a half year old Karan Singh, who is 4ft 5in tall, posing here with his same-age friends in Meerut, India, is believed to be the tallest toddler in the world

Growing boy: Karan, sat with more friends at nursery school, already weighs seven stone

'He was born big and is already half as tall as me, so I believe he will outgrow me soon,' said Shweatlana.

Karan, who was twice the size of normal babies at birth - 13lbs and 2ft - never fitted baby clothes and now wears clothes designed for children three or four times his age.

'I had to throw away the baby clothes I'd bought for him and go to the market again. The people in the hospital told me to buy clothes designed for one-year-old kids,' laughed Karan's proud father.

At 6ft 7in Sanjay Singh towers over most people but is dwarfed by his wife and expects Karan to soon catch up.

The giant family spends £124 a month - almost three times their neighbours' budgets - keeping everybody fed, including 20 jars of honey.
'When Karan wakes up in the morning the first thing he does is ask for food and tea. Whenever he sees anybody eating, he asks for food,' said Shweatlana. 'He'd never stop eating if I didn't force him to.' 

Big lad: Karan is already as tall as his five-year-old friend pictured here

Tall order: Karan Singh, second from right, poses with his friends Akash, 7, Vipin, 12, (in blue) and Kiran Singh, 12, far right wearing orange

The constantly hungry toddler devours five apples in a go, craves sweets and demands ten teaspoonfuls of honey a day.

'In the afternoon when he asks for food, he will consume two plates of rice, two buckets of vegetables and three chappatis (bread) with curd,' said Sanjay.

When Karan first went to kindergarten teachers took one look at the giant toddler and refused to admit him, insisting he must be old enough for primary school.

'Only after I showed them his birth certificate did they agree to admit him in nursery,' said Sanjay.

Mum Shweatlana, a basketball player who is preparing to represent India in the Commonwealth Games to be held in Delhi next month, said: 'Whenever we go shopping we buy the biggest clothes we can get for him and in five months time he grows out of them,' she said.

'His height is an advantage and if he wants to play basketball in future I will send him to America for studies there.' 

Big family: 7ft 3in tall Shweatlana Singh, 24, the mother of two and a half year old Karan, with her relatives

Sanjay, a doctor, met Shweatlana at university in Bangalore, when he was introduced by one of her relatives. Her height and popularity on the basketball team soon won him over.

'Her jolly and laughing nature attracted me and I didn't think twice as she proposed marrying,' he said.

'At 6ft 7in, I am normally tallest person in any room but in front of my wife, I feel unusually little. People say you should respect your wife, but in my case I literally have to look up to her.' 

The couple, who plan to have another child after Shweatlana has competed in the Commonwealth Games, are looking in the record books to see if they might one day become the tallest family in the world.

'It would be funny and we would be like a natural jungle book, a giraffe's family,'' said Sanjay. 'It would be a very special kind of family.' 

Despite being proud of their size, the family admits that it can create problems while travelling in India's rickety buses and auto-rickshaws.

'People stare at us whenever we go to the market for shopping but it doesn't upset us and rather it makes us happy,' said Shweatlana.