Andres Moreno was once regarded as the world’s fattest man after ballooning to 980lbs at his heaviest – and on National Obesity Week we look back on his life almost ten years since his death
It is just over nine years since the world’s fattest man took his last breath – just as he thought his life was getting back on track.
Andres Moreno, once a whopping 70 stone, had just undergone a stomach bypass when he suffered a heart attack after downing energy drinks.
Dr. Jorge Ojeda said the Mexican, who was just 38, guzzled six energy drinks a day before his death and added: “As an obese man, although he was losing weight and was starting to move, exposing yourself to a stimulant can cause an irregular heartbeat, and that or a heart attack can lead to death.
“He drank more than six energy drinks a day according to his family and we believe it could be a lot more than six.”
Below, we take a look back on his extraordinary life during what is National Obesity Awareness Week.
Early life
Moreno was born weighing 13 pounds and he was already 18-and-a-half stone by the time he turned 10.
Despite his size, Moreno had ambitions of becoming a police officer and also found a wife early in his life.
But after his 20th birthday, things started to unravel. He remembered: “I lost my wife, who I lived with for three years and left me because I was fat.
“I realised I was putting on more and more weight and getting bigger but it was like a snowball I couldn’t stop. Friends and family would visit me and when they went I was left alone crying and sad because of my situation and begging God to put me back on the right path.
“I hit rock bottom when I couldn’t get out of bed and go to the toilet or wash myself.”
Health battle
Newly single and unable to work because of his weight, Moreno ballooned to a staggering 70st and ultimately became bedbound.
His size resulted in worldwide media attention and, fearing an early death, he vowed to have a stomach bypass to shift some weight.
Before surgery, the retired cop was amazed when then Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo sent him a signed shirt.
He said: “Many thanks to everyone, including Cristiano Ronaldo, for taking an interest in my case. Sometimes you think they are in another world, far from ordinary people, but that’s not true.
“I feel like I’ve been given a wonderful Christmas present before it was time.”
Mexican football club Chivas Guadalajara also sent him a good luck video ahead of the surgery.
Before going under the knife, Moreno weighed 700lbs after losing 19 stone naturally. Seven people had to hoist him onto a reinforced stretcher to take him to his procedure.
Moreno wanted to become healthy so he could find a wife, start a family and create a foundation for obese people.
He added: “I want to show them that no matter how large they are, there is hope.”
Around 70% of his stomach was removed at the Mexico Gastric Bypass unit in the Arboledas Hospital and he was able to wash himself in the days that followed.
Tragically, he died two weeks later in an ambulance on Christmas Day 2015, after a heart attack.
His publicist revealed: “Andres died at 8.30am on Christmas Day in an ambulance from a heart attack as he was taken from his house to San Jose Hospital. We are dismayed by the news.”
Energy drinks
It soon emerged that Moreno had been binging on energy drinks. His consumption was reportedly the equivalent of someone without health problems drinking 42 Coke cans in 72 hours.
It was reported locally that he became addicted to energy drinks after feeling stressed in his personal life.
According to expert nutritionist Edward Mathew, people should avoid energy drinks that exceed their personal caffeine tolerance.
He warned it can lead to “gastrointestinal distress, jitters and restlessness”.
Specialist Paediatric Eating Disorder Dietitian, Annabel Gipp, concluded: “The mounting body of evidence demonstrates that the consumption of energy drinks is detrimental to both the physical and mental wellbeing of young people, as well as encouraging other risky behaviours such as alcohol use.”
The NHS meanwhile said the high levels of caffeine, sugar and acidity make energy drinks unsuitable for anyone under 16.
It also listed the following potential side effects:
- Increase heart rate and blood pressure
- Anxiety
- Sleep problems
- Hyperactivity
- Nausea
- Abdominal pain
- Fainting
- Substance dependence
- Obesity
- Poor dental health