Manuel Uribe, Former "World's Heaviest Man," Dies in Mexico

Manuel Uribe was never a small guy, but when he hit 1,235 pounds in 2006, he tipped the scales and earned the Guinness World Records title of the Heaviest Man in the World.

Uribe died Monday at the age of 48 in Monterrey, Mexico. He had slimmed down to 867 pounds since reaching his peak weight, but it was still no easy feat to get Uribe to the hospital. He was transported by crane with the help of emergency and civil defense workers, according to an AP report. Doctors have not yet confirmed the cause of death, but Uribe is believed to have suffered from both cardiac and liver problems.

Although Uribe had been bed-ridden since 2002, he didn’t let that stop him from getting married in 2008. He went on a strict diet prior to the wedding, with the goal of walking down the aisle with his bride, Claudia Solis. Despite losing 550 pounds, he did not manage to walk on his own; Uribe was brought down the aisle on a flatbed truck.

During Uribe’s most intense period of weight loss, he adhered to the “Zone Diet” and did exercises on his custom-made bed.

Prior to the Zone Diet and exercise regime, Uribe was on what he considered to be an average diet. “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 told ABC News in 2007.

Alexandra DiPalma is a producer for Fusion Lightworks, Fusion’s In-house Branded Content Agency.