A MAN who was once the fattest person in the world and weighed more than four baby elephants has undergone a dramatic transformation.
Juan Pedro Franco was so big he couldn’t even drag his 93 stone body to the bathroom – but now he is unrecognizable.
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The 40-year-old has been working hard to lose weight after a terrifying near-death experience prompted him to take action.
Juan began struggling with his weight as a child, surpassing the 10 kilo mark when he was only six years old.
An injury in his adolescence made things worse and by the time he was 17 his weight had skyrocketed to 36 kilos.
Juan broke the world record when he was 32 years old, 93 kilos and bedridden due to his size.
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Just being able to lift your arms and get up every day, get up to get a glass of water or go to the bathroom, makes you feel great.
Juan Pedro Franco
It took an eight-strong team to move him and he couldn’t go to the toilet without help, which meant he was forced to wear a nappy.
Juan said Guinness World Records: “My body just went its own way without any control.”
“I tried dieting day after day, but nothing worked and I became desperate.”
After realizing that if he continued with his way of life his body would soon give way, a desperate Juan began to seek help.
In obesity specialist in guadalajara, Mexico gave him a lifeline and agreed to operate.
Juan was able to get out of bed for the first time in years to attend the surgery.
While in the hospital he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, thyroid dysfunction, hypertension and fluid in his lungs.
He said then: “The most important thing for me is to walk again. I haven’t left the house or walked anywhere in six years.”
By 2017, he had already lost 26 kilos and 10 pounds, which was enough to allow him to undergo a second life-changing surgery and receive a gastric band.
After the operation, he had a new life and changed his diet and exercise regimen, continued to lose weight and lost a third of his body weight by 2019.
In the last three years, Juan had lost an incredible 52 kilos and weighed 41 kilos in 2023.
Speaking of the transformation towards Telemundo in Mexico, Juan said, “Just being able to lift your arms and get up every day, get up to get a glass of water or go to the bathroom, it makes you feel great.
“It’s great to be able to move around more and be more self-sufficient.”
It comes as a man who weighed 90 pounds and lived on his couch was found dead after promising to lose weight.
Leonid Andreev had been a prisoner in his own home for five years, but he had just begun to turn his life around.
Just one day before his death, Andreev had told local media that he was planning a new life: losing weight and moving to an apartment in the city.
The 60-year-old revealed 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, 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 suffering a heart attack.
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