World’s Most Obese Man Goes Outside For First Time In Five Months
Posted August 11, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Manuel Uribe went outside on Sunday.
That doesn’t sound like much of an accomplishment until you realize it’s the first time he’s been able to do that since April. It’s been nearly five months since the 43-year-old – once cited in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most obese person on the planet – saw the great outdoors.
Uribe formerly weighed in at an astounding 1,235 lbs. A crash diet helped him slim down to his current weight near the 500 lbs. mark and he hopes to shed even more. But with so much fat on his body, walking has been an impossibility and the Monterrey, Mexico native has been mostly bedridden and forced to stay home for years.
That changed Sunday, when a forklift and a flatbed truck were brought in to help him see the outside world for the first time since the spring. The lift took the specially designed bed and put it into the waiting vehicle, which was then driven down to a local lake.
It was quite a sight for those on scene as Uribe snacked on his now major dish of vegetables and joked with a local boat owner in the area. “Too bad I can’t get on it – it would sink,” he told the skipper.
Uribe has become something of a celebrity around the world. His last attempt to leave his home came in March, when he made it part way to a planned birthday party for his fiancée. But when the truck he was being transported in got stuck under an overpass, he was forced to turn back home.
This trip was far more successful, completing his first full outing since 2007, when he was wheeled through the streets by six people as a Mariachi band accompanied his sojourn (top left).
Uribe admits he’s the architect of his own misfortune. He began binging on junk food and sugar-filled soft drinks when he moved to the U.S. in 1988 and soon found himself grossly overweight. An attempt at liposuction was botched, leaving him with giant tumours on his legs and unable to walk.
Two months ago, he proclaimed his goal was to walk down the aisle with his bride, a Mexican hairdresser.
After two years of steady dieting under strict supervision, he tipped the scales at 550 lbs. last June. He won’t say exactly how much he weighs now, but he’s hoping his experience will serve as a lesson to others about watching what – and how much – they eat.
Photo credit: Alejandro Acosta/AFP/Getty Images
