A toddler who was so badly starved by her vegan parents she had no teeth and couldn't stand up is now obese.
The carer for the little one said "it's like she's storing calories in case she needs them in the future".
The child was fed a diet relying on oats and rice milk during the first 19 months of her life which seriously damaged her growth.
Her parents, 32 and 35, fed the girl a diet so lacking in basic nutrients she developed rickets - a degenerative bone disease caused by a shortage of vital nutrients.
Details of the neglect of the Australian toddler were heard at Sydney's Downing Centre District Court on Thursday during a sentencing hearing for her parents.
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The child, who is now three, had no medical records the hearing was told and neighbours did not even know she existed.
The vegan parents have admitted to failing to provide for their child, causing her serious injury.
Neighbours had seen the girl's two older brothers, Nine News reports , but they did not know the couple had a third child.
The authorities were only alerted to the girl's very existence when she had a seizure at the family home in Sydney.
The tot then stayed in hospital for a month.
A victim impact statement written by a foster carer on the child's behalf revealed the extent of her malnourishment.
It read: "For the first 19 months of her her life (the girl) did not receive the basic care to grow and develop,' the carer said in her statement.
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"(The girl) was defenceless and unable to protect herself from her parents."
At the age of 19 months the toddler weighed less than 5kg (11lbs) and looked like a three-month-old.
The child, who had no teeth, could not sit up or even roll over, let alone use her hands for simple tasks such as playing with toys.
'Caring for (the girl) was like caring for a very young baby,' the carer said.
The child, now almost three, had made progress but her height and weight were out of proportion.
"The gains have not come easily," the carer said. "This crime has had a long-term impact on her development."
The girl could now crawl, stand and walk and spoke about 20 words.
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She had developed a healthy appetite but her short stature meant she was obese.
"It's like her body is storing calories in case she needs them in the future," the carer said.
"She immediately stands out as different from other children."
When the toddler was admitted to hospital the mother told a dietician her entire family followed a vegan diet.
She said her daughter would generally have one cup of oats with rice milk and half a banana in the morning, and a piece of toast with jam or peanut butter for lunch.
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For dinner, she said her daughter would be offered tofu, rice or potatoes.
But she said the girl, who was also breastfed once a day, was a 'fussy eater' so she might just have oats again.
This diet resulted in severe deficiencies in nutrients for the infant, including a lack of calcium, phosphate, vitamin B12, vitamin A, iron and zinc.
Her levels of vitamin D - which can cause bone disease if found to be too low - were 'undetectable'.
The infant had fractures throughout her tiny body and her bones were so brittle doctors believed they could have been broken by 'normal handling'.
The girl now lives with a relative and her two brothers in another state.
The sentencing hearing continues.
