A MEXICAN man once regarded as the world’s most obese has died of heart failure at the age of 38, two months after bariatric surgery to lose weight.
Andres Moreno Sepulveda, who had weighed as much as 450 kilograms, died en route to hospital in the northwestern state of Sonora on Christmas Day, a friend said.
“He was doing well, but he had had two previous heart attacks. He became short of breath, and died in the ambulance,” said Carmen Palacios, who had been helping him during his rehabilitation process over the past year.
The ex-police officer had been bedridden for several years due to his weight, battling numerous illnesses.
Moreno Sepulveda had slimmed down to 320kg before undergoing gastric bypass surgery to reduce his stomach.
His doctor said following the procedure that they hoped to get him down to about 85kg eventually.
Just a month ago, Real Madrid football sensation Cristiano Ronaldo sent Moreno Sepulveda a signed shirt to encourage him to embrace a healthy lifestyle.
At the time, a stoked Moreno Sepulveda said, “I want to thank everyone, especially Ronaldo, for taking interest in my case. Sometimes you think that people live in another world way from the people, but that is not the case. I feel as if I had gotten a Christmas gift before Christmas,” Metro reported.
Moreno Sepulveda was always larger than average, born at nearly 6kg before reaching a staggering 120kg by age 10, The Telegraph reports.
He was determined to shed the fat this year and Ms Palacios said he was “really happy” after his weight-loss surgery, having regained his capacity to wash himself, wear runners and even begin walking with support.
Mexico, currently in the grips of a deadly obesity crisis, also held the previous record for the world’s fattest man with Manuel Uribe who died last year after reaching a peak weight of 560kg.
