Meet World's Oldest 21-Year-Old Man Who Looks Like A 160-Year-Old Man (Photos)

The world's oldest 'Benjamin Button' has been discovered to be a 21-year-old man in the body of a 160-year-old.

Rupesh Kumar, from Hanumanganj, India, has aged eight times faster than normal due to a rare ageing disease.

His aged appearance caused such a stir that his parents were even offered money to sell him to a circus.

The condition, known as Hutchinson-Gilford progeria, affects just one in eight million people.

Mr Kumar is the oldest known survivor and weighs just over three stone. Mr Kumar started to show signs of the disease as a young boy.

His 45 year old father Ramapati Kumar, a farm laborer, said:

'It all started with frequent headaches and stomach pains when he was very small. 

'We took him to several doctors, but none of them could diagnose his condition. 

'They prescribe a few painkillers and ask us to go home.'

'Over time, my son's head grew abnormally big and he started shedding weight drastically.'

Around five years ago, a few people came to their village under the pretence of helping Rupesh.

His father said:

'I thought they were good people who wanted to help with the treatment of my son. 

'But I was shocked when they said that they wanted to buy my son and exhibit him as a spectacle in a circus. 

'They offered to pay us Rs 300,000 [approximately £3,600]. I politely told them to go away. That I would never give my child away even if they had offered Rs 10,000,000 [approximately £121,000].'

Rupesh's mother Shanti Devi, who acts as his carer, said: 

'How could they even dare to make such an inhuman offer?'

Unfortunately, Hutchinson-Gilford progeria is incurable, yet Rupesh has defied expectations by living into his twenties.

His doctor Dr Yugantar Pandey, said: 'He is suffering from progeria and there is no cure of this disease so far.

'Most people suffering from progeria die by the time they reach 13-15, but in some cases, like the case of Rupesh, they live up till 21.