World's most obese man, weighing 79 stone, begins weight loss treatment in Mexico

Zee Media Bureau

Mexico City: The fattest man in the world, a resident of Mexico, has begun his medical treatment in a bid to lose weight.

32-year-old Juan Pedro Franco weighs almost 79 stone (nearly 502 kg) and has been bed-ridden for most of the last 15 years.

He was transported on Tuesday night by a specially-adapted van from his hometown of Aguascalientes in central Mexico, to a private clinic in the city of Guadalajara in western Mexico, Efe news reported.

A bout of pneumonia during childhood and a crippling accident which left him bed-ridden for over a year, contributed to his already chubby structure and he ended up gaining more weight.

As per the Express UK, he has put on a staggering 15 stone in the past four months alone since making a public appeal for cash help to allow him to restart a special diet.

Special equipment was needed to move Juan Pedro from his home with the aid of oxygen tanks to a hospital in Guadalajara 100 miles away.

"Juan Pedro arrived at the Jardines de Guadalupe de Zapopan Hospital after a complex transfer," Gastric Bypass Mexico, the medical center handling the case, said in a communique.

Pedro believes that this is "the start of a new life", adding that he was "grateful and hopeful" for the opportunity being provided to him.

He will be put on a special diet for a duration of six months to help him lose weight after the completion of which, he will go in for surgery.

Because of his condition, he is aware that he is at a risk of death, acknowledging that he has been overweight since childhood.

"At 15 I already weighed about 200 kg and my body continued gaining weight ... out of control. I come from a humble family and we didn't know how to fight against my obesity," he said.

Pedro is an accomplished guitar player, appealed for help in July when he weighed just over 60 stone, revealing he hadn't left his box room for six years and feared he would die after having to quit a special diet which his pensioner parents couldn't afford, Express UK reported.

Pedro's medical situation includes several ailments associated with obesity, including hypothyroidism, Type 2 diabetes causing hypertension, a high blood glucose level and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the statement said.

(With IANS inputs)