Former World’s Fattest Man Turns Life Around By Losing 52 Stone
by Lucy ConnollyThe former world’s fattest man has lost an incredible 52 stone in just three years, enabling him to walk again for the first time in nearly 10 years.
Juan Pedro Franco, 35, has transformed his life and now weighs under 41 stone, having previously been close to death weighing a massive 93 stone.
Prior to his dramatic weight loss, Juan was bedridden and couldn’t do even basic tasks for himself. Now though, he is walking with the aid of a stick and can even sit down by himself.
The 35-year-old from Mexico spent nearly a decade in bed after his weight ballooned following a life-changing car accident when he was a teenager and a bout of pneumonia.
Juan, a guitarist, became headline news in November 2016, when pictures emerged of him being transported from his home in the city of Aguascalientes to a clinic in Guadalajara.
He was named the world’s fattest man by Guinness World Records in 2017, but rather than take the title as an insult or a mockery, Juan used it as an opportunity to turn his life around.
After seeing a doctor and undergoing a number of surgeries, Juan was able to lose 60% of his body weight – something that has enabled him to regulate his diabetes, high blood pressure and lung damage that previously affected his life so much.
He had three bariatric surgeries to help shift the excess weight he was carrying, and his surgeon, Jose Antonio Castaneda, has been credited with playing a key part in saving Juan’s life.
Juan told Telemundo show Al Rojo Vivo how much his life has changed since losing the weight (translated into English):
Just raising your arms, getting up every day, standing by a glass of water, going to the bathroom, stopping to bathe and that they are no longer towel baths. Water is life, everything is life. It feels very good. Fantastic that one can move more and be self-sufficient.
He no longer requires oxygen to get through the day and this week, on Wednesday, November 27, he was finally able to take a bath in his shower for the first time in nine years.
Juan’s next steps include him having another operation to remove the excess skin, which is expected to weigh nearly 200lbs (approximately 14 stone).
This will see him drop a significant amount of weight and will make an even bigger difference in his quality of life.
Keep up the good work, Juan.
A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).