The world never likes obesity, but some people have such an unfortunate fate that they survive their whole life with obesity, which makes their overall personality unattractive. In history, there are a lot of people who have survived their lives facing unbeatable challenges; Jon Brower Minnoch was among them.
Jon Brower Minnoch is a renowned fattest person; he secured his name at the top of the list of fattest people in the world. He is considered the heaviest person in medical history, suffering from obesity since childhood.
In 1963, he was 185 cm (6 ft 1 in) and 178 kg (392 lb or 28 st), in 1966 317 kg (700 lb or 50 st), and in September 1976 442 kg (975 lb or 69 st 9 lb). Minnoch entered University Hospital in Seattle, Washington, in March 1978, where consultant endocrinologist Dr Robert Schwartz estimated that Minnoch had to have weighed over 635 kg (1,400 lb or 100 st), much of that being water retention owing to his congestive heart failure.
It required the services of a dozen firemen and an improvised stretcher to carry him on the journey to his house, to a ferry-boat to reach the University Hospital, Seattle. He was placed in two beds tied together when he appeared in the hospital, drenched in water and experiencing heart and breathing failure. 13 people were required to simply roll him over.
Childhood and Early Life
Jon Brower Minnoch was born on September 29, 1941, in Bainbridge Island, Washington, as the sole child of John and June Minnoch. His family relocated to an area of Seattle and lived there a bit later about 30 minutes north.
Obesity followed him from his childhood. At the age of 12, he weighed 294 pounds (133 kg), and this was an indication that he would still go the same path during his adulthood. However, Jon was a normal child on his way to school who participated in all standard activities, even though he was fat. He attended Bothell High School.
Jon Minnoch: Quick Insights
Born | September 29, 1941 |
Occupation | Taxi Diver |
Famous for | Heaviest Person ever recorded |
Burial Place | Mount Pleasant Cemetery |
Height | 6ft 1 inch (185 cm) |
Spouses | Carolyn Jean McArdle |
Children | 2 |
Died | September 4, 1983 (age 41) |
Health Complications
As Jon grew older, his life started to become complicated, facing several health issues, as his weight continued to rise rapidly. At the age of 22, he stood just over 6 feet tall and weighed 392 pounds (178 kg).
His weight continued to increase to 700 pounds (317 kg) by 1966. Ten years later, he weighed 975 pounds (442 kg).
Jon experienced major health problems because of his weight, and the physicians pointed out that weight played an important role in the heart, blood circulation, and respiratory condition that plagued him. Jon himself attributed his overweight to water retention more than anything else-so much so that obesity is created out of poor lifestyle choices rather than eating too much food and so on.
It could be that Jon just had a very rare set of circumstances that resulted in an excess of fluid in his body. This, being defined as massive generalized edema, possibly contributed to his body holding excess fluid that made his obesity life-threatening.
By early 1978, Jon was done with being overweight, so he plotted a plan to put himself on an extreme diet, for which he took only about 500 calories per day for 60 days. This low caloric intake, plus a cold he developed, weakened him so much that he could barely move or breathe.
First Hospitalization
Following an extreme diet plan, Jon became weak and unable to breathe properly. He became so weak and reached the point where he started suffering from congestive heart failure and respiratory failure.
If he wanted to keep fighting for his life, he had no option but to go to a hospital.
In March 1978, a dozen Bainbridge Island firefighters broke down windows at Jon's house to transfer him to an ambulance, according to the Ellensburg, Washington, Daily Record and other reports. They carefully moved him to the University Hospital in Seattle after carrying him out on a thick piece of plywood. His age was thirty-six.
Death
After being treated several times, he was again readmitted to the hospital shortly more than a year after in October 1981, when his weight had reached 952 lb (432 kg; 68 st), having put on 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st) in only seven days. He succumbed to death on 4 September 1983, 23 months later at the age of 41. By the time of his death, he weighed 798 lb (362 kg; 57 st). Minnoch died at the age of 41 because of cardiac arrest, with respiratory failure and a restrictive lung disease listed in the death certificate as contributing factors. He was proceeded with a plywood 3 1/4 inch (19.1 mm) and lined with a wooden cloth casket. The coffin consumed two burial spaces in the cemetery, with about 11 men required to carry his casket to his place of rest at Mount Pleasant Cemetery.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Who was the heaviest known person in the world?
Jon Minnoch was recorded as the heaviest person in the world. He was a taxi driver by profession, having two children.
2. Where was Brower Minnoch born?
He was born on Bainbridge Island, Washington, and weighed 294 pounds at age 12.
3. How much Brower Minnoch lost in his dieting journey?
Minnoch followed a strict dieting plan, pursuing a calorie-deficient diet in which he lost over 900 lb (408 kg).
