Small Wonder

May 14, 2011 By arne hendriks 0

Jyoti Amge is the world’s smallest girl. She weighs about 5 kilograms and at 58 cm’s her height  is really close to The Incredible Shrinking Man’s projected future size of 50 centimeter. She has been the subject of numerous documentaries and enjoys her star status. By some she’s worshipped as a goddess. LIVE India broadcasted a live interview with Jyoti in 2009 when she was 15 years old but already considerably smaller then most one year olds. Her ‘condition’ is the result of a growth anomaly. It’s unsure what the exact reasons are for her unique smallness, as is often the case in forms of achondroplasia. People with Jyoti’s condition enjoy normal intelligence and lifespan although there are some minor problems with mobility of the elbow and shortish limbs.

It would help considerably if Jyoti’s achondroplasia is studied from the perspective of desirability, and not as a disease. Perhaps, instead of focussing on what’s wrong with people like Jyoti, medical researchers should focus more on what’s right with her. She certainly doesn’t mind being this small.