A MAN who was once the world’s fattest person and weighed more than four baby elephants has undergone a dramatic transformation.
Juan Pedro Franco was so huge he couldn’t even haul his 93 stone body to the toilet – but he is now unrecognisable.
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The 40-year-old has been working hard to shed the pounds after a terrifying near death experience jolted him into action.
Juan started struggling with his weight as a child, passing the 10 stone mark when he was just six years old.
An injury in his teens made matters worse and by the time he was 17 years old his weight had ballooned to 36 stone.
Juan broke the world record when he was 32, 93 stone, and bedridden due to his size.
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Just being able to lift up your arms and get up every day, get up for a glass of water or to go to the toilet, makes you feel great
Juan Pedro Franco
It took a team of eight strong people to move him and he was unable to go to the toilet unassisted – meaning he was forced to wear a nappy.
Juan told Guinness World Records: “My body just followed its own path without any control whatsoever.”
“I tried to diet day after day, but nothing worked and I became desperate.”
After realising that if he carried on with his way of life his body would soon give in a desperate Juan began to search for help.
An obesity specialist in Guadalajara, Mexico threw him a lifeline and agreed to operate.
Juan was able to leave his bed for the first time in years to attend the surgery.
While in hospital he was diagnosed with type-2 diabetes, thyroid dysfunction, hypertension and liquid in his lungs.
He said at the time: “The most important thing for me is to walk again. I haven’t left the house for six years or even walked anywhere.”
By 2017 he’d already lost 26 stone and 10lbs, which was enough for him to be allowed to undergo a second life-changing surgery and have a gastric band fitted.
After the operation he had a new lease of life and went on to switch up his diet and exercise regime, continuing to shed the pounds and dropping a third of his body weight by 2019.
In the last three years Juan had lost an incredible 52 stone and weighed 41 stone in 2023.
Speaking about the transformation to Telemundo in Mexico, Juan said: “Just being able to lift up your arms and get up every day, get up for a glass of water or to go to the toilet, makes you feel great.
“It feels fantastic to be able to move more and be more self-sufficient.”
It comes as a man who weighed 44 stone and lived on his sofa was found dead after he vowed to shed pounds.
Leonid Andreev had been a prisoner in his own home for five years but he had just started to turn his life around.
Only a day before Andreev died he had told local media how he was planning a new life of losing weight and moving to a city apartment.
The 60-year-old revealed that he had started a new diet with just a cup of light soup for lunch.
He said: “I tried to lose at least a little weight – I ate less and did not indulge in flour products.”
Andreev’s body was discovered in his village home in Armizonskoye, Russia, on November 17 after he suffered a heart attack.
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