Yao Defen
Encyclopedia
Yao Defen of China
, (born July 15, 1972) is the tallest living woman, as recognized by Guinness World Records
. She stands 7 ft 8 in tall (2.33 m), weighs 200 kilograms (440.9 lb), and has size 26 (UK) / 78 (EU) feet. Her gigantism
is due to a tumor in her pituitary gland
.
province of Shucheng County. At birth she weighed 6.16 pounds. At the age of three years she was eating more than three times the amount of food that other three-year-old children were eating. When she was eleven years old she was about six feet, two inches tall. She was six feet nine inches tall by the age of fifteen years.
The story of this "woman giant" began to spread rapidly after she went to see a doctor at the age of fifteen years for an illness. After that, many companies attempted to train her to be a sports star. The plans were abandoned, however, because Defen was too weak. Because she is illiterate, since 1992 Yao Defen has been forced to earn a living by traveling with her father and performing.
Yao Defen's giant stature was caused by a large tumor in the pituitary gland of her brain, which was releasing too much growth hormone and caused excessive growth in her bones. Six years ago, a hospital in Guangzhou Province removed the tumor, and she stopped growing.
The tumor returned and she was treated in Shanghai in 2007, but was sent home for six months with the hope that medication would reduce her tumor enough to allow surgery. The second surgery was never performed due to lack of funds.
In 2009, the TLC
cable TV network devoted a whole night's show to her. She suffered from a fall in her home and had internal bleeding of the brain. She recovered and felt some happiness after a visit from China's tallest man, Zhang Juncai
.
agreed to help Yao. She was taken to a nearby city hospital, where imaging procedures revealed that a small portion of her tumor, thought to have been removed many years before, still remained, causing continuing problems including weakening vision as it pressed against her optic nerve. She returned home, then was admitted for a month under observation in the larger Shanghai Ruijin Hospital, and given dietary supplements. In that hospital, her growth hormone was greatly slowed down, although it is still a problem. Upon her return home to her mother and brother, she was able to walk with crutches, unassisted by others, and was given a six-month supply of medicines and supplements in hopes of improving her condition enough to undergo surgery.
, heart disease
, poor nutrition, and osteoporosis
. Acromegaly
often results from a tumor within the pituitary gland that causes excess growth hormone secretion. As a result, the body's features become enlarged. It can also delay the onset of puberty
as is the case with Yao. She has no secondary sexual characteristic
s. Potential complication lacking surgery includes blindness and eventually premature death.
She lives near her mother (who is only four feet, eight inches tall) in a small village in rural China.
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, (born July 15, 1972) is the tallest living woman, as recognized by Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
. She stands 7 ft 8 in tall (2.33 m), weighs 200 kilograms (440.9 lb), and has size 26 (UK) / 78 (EU) feet. Her gigantism
Gigantism
Gigantism, also known as giantism , is a condition characterized by excessive growth and height significantly above average...
is due to a tumor in her pituitary gland
Pituitary gland
In vertebrate anatomy the pituitary gland, or hypophysis, is an endocrine gland about the size of a pea and weighing 0.5 g , in humans. It is a protrusion off the bottom of the hypothalamus at the base of the brain, and rests in a small, bony cavity covered by a dural fold...
.
Early life
Yao Defen was born to poor farmers in the town of Liuan in the AnhuiAnhui
Anhui is a province in the People's Republic of China. Located in eastern China across the basins of the Yangtze River and the Huai River, it borders Jiangsu to the east, Zhejiang to the southeast, Jiangxi to the south, Hubei to the southwest, Henan to the northwest, and Shandong for a tiny...
province of Shucheng County. At birth she weighed 6.16 pounds. At the age of three years she was eating more than three times the amount of food that other three-year-old children were eating. When she was eleven years old she was about six feet, two inches tall. She was six feet nine inches tall by the age of fifteen years.
The story of this "woman giant" began to spread rapidly after she went to see a doctor at the age of fifteen years for an illness. After that, many companies attempted to train her to be a sports star. The plans were abandoned, however, because Defen was too weak. Because she is illiterate, since 1992 Yao Defen has been forced to earn a living by traveling with her father and performing.
Yao Defen's giant stature was caused by a large tumor in the pituitary gland of her brain, which was releasing too much growth hormone and caused excessive growth in her bones. Six years ago, a hospital in Guangzhou Province removed the tumor, and she stopped growing.
The tumor returned and she was treated in Shanghai in 2007, but was sent home for six months with the hope that medication would reduce her tumor enough to allow surgery. The second surgery was never performed due to lack of funds.
In 2009, the TLC
TLC (TV channel)
TLC is an American cable TV specialty channel which initially focused on educational content. Since 1991 TLC has been owned by Discovery Communications, the same company that operates the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and The Science Channel, as well as other learning-themed networks...
cable TV network devoted a whole night's show to her. She suffered from a fall in her home and had internal bleeding of the brain. She recovered and felt some happiness after a visit from China's tallest man, Zhang Juncai
Zhang Juncai
Zhang Juncai is one of the world's tallest people, standing at least tall. He comes from Shanxi Province, China. He was verified as China's tallest man on 23 November 2004 at . He stands taller than Bao Xishun, shorter than Sultan Kösen and taller than the average Chinese man...
.
Medical help
A British television program filmed a documentary on her and helped raise money so she could get proper medical care. They measured her and according to the documentary she is seven feet, eight inches tall. Two leading doctors in acromegalyAcromegaly
Acromegaly is a syndrome that results when the anterior pituitary gland produces excess growth hormone after epiphyseal plate closure at puberty...
agreed to help Yao. She was taken to a nearby city hospital, where imaging procedures revealed that a small portion of her tumor, thought to have been removed many years before, still remained, causing continuing problems including weakening vision as it pressed against her optic nerve. She returned home, then was admitted for a month under observation in the larger Shanghai Ruijin Hospital, and given dietary supplements. In that hospital, her growth hormone was greatly slowed down, although it is still a problem. Upon her return home to her mother and brother, she was able to walk with crutches, unassisted by others, and was given a six-month supply of medicines and supplements in hopes of improving her condition enough to undergo surgery.
Acromegaly
Yao currently suffers from hypertensionHypertension
Hypertension or high blood pressure is a cardiac chronic medical condition in which the systemic arterial blood pressure is elevated. What that means is that the heart is having to work harder than it should to pump the blood around the body. Blood pressure involves two measurements, systolic and...
, heart disease
Heart disease
Heart disease, cardiac disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases affecting the heart. , it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, accounting for 25.4% of the total deaths in the United States.-Types:-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...
, poor nutrition, and osteoporosis
Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a disease of bones that leads to an increased risk of fracture. In osteoporosis the bone mineral density is reduced, bone microarchitecture is deteriorating, and the amount and variety of proteins in bone is altered...
. Acromegaly
Acromegaly
Acromegaly is a syndrome that results when the anterior pituitary gland produces excess growth hormone after epiphyseal plate closure at puberty...
often results from a tumor within the pituitary gland that causes excess growth hormone secretion. As a result, the body's features become enlarged. It can also delay the onset of puberty
Puberty
Puberty is the process of physical changes by which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of reproduction, as initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads; the ovaries in a girl, the testes in a boy...
as is the case with Yao. She has no secondary sexual characteristic
Secondary sex characteristic
Secondary sex characteristics are features that distinguish the two sexes of a species, but that are not directly part of the reproductive system. They are believed to be the product of sexual selection for traits which give an individual an advantage over its rivals in courtship and aggressive...
s. Potential complication lacking surgery includes blindness and eventually premature death.
She lives near her mother (who is only four feet, eight inches tall) in a small village in rural China.
See also
- List of tallest people
- Sultan KösenSultan KosenSultan Kösen holds the Guinness World Record for tallest living male at .His growth has resulted from a tumour affecting his pituitary gland. His stature is such that he must use crutches in order to walk....
, tallest living man - Zeng JinlianZeng JinlianZeng Jinlian she was the tallest female ever recorded in medical history, taking over Jane Bunford's record. She is also the only female counted among the fourteen individuals in medical history who reached a verified eight feet or more. At the time of her death at the age of 17, in Hunan, China,...
, the tallest woman in medical history