World's heaviest man goes under knife in Mexico

A Mexican man who weighs more than half a ton, 595kg, is to undergo surgery to reduce his size.

Believed to be the heaviest man in the world, 33-year-old Juan Pedro Franco has prepared for the operation by losing 175kg in a special weight-loss clinic.

His doctor, Jose Antonio Castaneda Cruz, said that he had “lost nearly 30 per cent of his initial weight, so he is ready to undergo bariatric surgery”.

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When Mr Franco first contacted the clinic about a weight loss operation, he was told that the conditions he suffered from, including diabetes, made the operation impossible.

However, after following a rigorous weight loss program, he is ready to undergo the surgery.

According to local media, Mr Franco had been mostly bed-ridden for seven years, and though he battled with obesity all his life, an injury at the age of 17 exacerbated the problem.

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