The Heaviest Man in Recorded History

Jon Brower Minnoch (1941–1983) was the heaviest man recorded in history. At his peak weight, he was approximately 1400 lb (635 kg, 100 stone). This figure was only a close estimation, however, because his extreme size, poor health, and lack of mobility prevented use of a scale. He was a resident of Bainbridge Island, Washington.

Early life

Minnoch suffered from obesity from childhood. At the age of 12, he weighed 292 lb (132 kg, 21 stone), and by age 22 he was 6' 1" (1.85 m) in height and weighed 392 lbs (178 kg, 28 stone).

Hospitalizations

His weight continued to increase steadily until his hospitalization in March 1978 at age 37 due to cardiac and respiratory failure. That same year, he broke a record for the greatest difference in weight between a married couple when he married his 110-lb. wife Jeannette and later fathered two children. Minnoch was diagnosed with massive generalized edema, which caused his body to accumulate excess extracellular fluid. Upon his hospital admission, it was estimated by endocrinologist Dr. Robert Schwartz that over 900 lbs (408 kg) of his overall body mass was retained fluid.

Transportation for Minnoch was extremely difficult. It took over a dozen firefighters and rescue personnel, a specially modified stretcher, and a ferry boat to transport him to University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle. There, he was placed on two beds pushed together, and it took 13 people to simply roll him over for linen changes.

Death

He was discharged from the hospital after 16 months on a strict diet of 1,200 calories per day. He weighed 476 lb (216 kg), with his weight loss of approximately 924 lb (419 kg) being the largest ever documented. However, he was readmitted to the hospital just over a year later in October 1981, after his weight doubled to 952 lbs (432 kg). With his underlying condition of edema being incurable and difficult to treat, the decision was made to discontinue treatment, and he died 23 months later on September 10, 1983, at age 42 and a weight of 798 lbs (362 kg) with a 105.3 BMI.

Source: wikipedia.org