Manuel Uribe (obese man)

Uribe lived in San Nicolás de los Garza, a suburb of Monterrey, Nuevo León, and according to the Associated Press he weighed during his adolescence. "I used to eat normal, just like all Mexicans do … beans, rice, flour tortilla, corn tortilla, french fries, hamburgers, subs and pizzas, whatever regular people eat". He married his first wife in 1987 and the couple immigrated to the United States for employment opportunities. They settled in Dallas, Texas, where he was employed as a technician fixing typewriters, electronic calculators, and computers. The nature of his job required Uribe to spend his day sitting at a desk. Reflecting on those years, Uribe commented: "Life in the United States is like that, you just go from your desk to your car. I used to drive my car to and from work, so I didn't get any exercise". His sedentary lifestyle may have contributed to the onset of his morbid obesity because it appears to be, according to a scientific study published in Clinical Cardiology, one of the major risk factors including a poor diet. After five years living in a new country, his obesity sharply increased and took a toll on his emotional stability: "[My wife] asked me for a divorce... I was very depressed... Everything ended on account of my obesity, because I spent a lot of money trying to see doctors, going on diets, and I just gained more weight." == Diet and weight loss ==

Manuel Uribe returned to Mexico and eventually made an emotional plea for help on national television. that consisted of five meals in small portions that included egg-white omelets, salads, chicken, fish, fruits and spring greens. His dramatic reduction in weight – reportedly by February 2008 On 3 October 2008, he gave diet advice to José Luis Garza, a critically obese and bedridden fellow Mexican who weighed . Garza, a former chef at a bowling alley who was unable to get out of his bed for four months, commented: "Manuel inspires me with courage and the will to live. I understand that this is a matter of life and death and that I have to follow the instructions that are given to me." Uribe's girlfriend Claudia Solís visited Garza's home with kiwifruit, grapefruit, pears, and protein supplements, and Uribe promised to help Garza get a wheel-equipped iron bed; however, Garza died five days later on 8 October 2008. == Second wedding ==

On 26 October 2008, after four years together, Uribe – who weighed in at after shedding – married his second wife Claudia from his bed. He said: "I am proof you can find love in any circumstances. It's all a question of faith. I have a wife and will form a new family and live a happy life." He was transported to the civil wedding on his specially-reinforced four-poster bed, draped with cream and gold and adorned in bright sunflowers, on the back of a truck. Donning a white silk shirt with a sheet around his legs, he waited to greet Claudia as she walked down a flight of stairs wearing a strapless ivory dress and a tiara in front of over 400 guests. == Death ==

Uribe was hospitalized on 2 May 2014 after suffering several cardiac arrhythmias and liver failure. He died on 26 May 2014 at age 48 from liver failure. After his death, his body was cremated and an urn with his ashes was kept by his mother. == See also ==