Manuel Uribe, The World’s Heaviest Man, dies at 48

Manuel Uribe, who was named The World’s Heaviest Man in 2006 by Guinness World Records, has died at the age of 48.

A Nuevo Leon health department official confirmed Manuel’s passing to The Associated Press. He was reportedly hospitalized earlier this month because of an abnormal heart beat. Excelsior, a Mexican news source, said the cause of death was liver failure.

When certified as the World’s Heaviest Man, Manuel weighed in at 1,230 pounds. He lost some weight in subsequent years. The Associated Press says he was 867 pounds at the time of his death.

Manuel leaves behind wife Claudia Solis.

Manuel traveling to his wedding in 2008. He was bedridden since 2001.

The two married in 2008 when Manuel was down to 790 pounds, his lowest weight in recent years. Claudia lost her first husband to complications from obesity.

In The World’s Heaviest Man documentary for TLC, Manuel explained his weight problem intensified upon moving to the United Stated in the late 1980s and assuming an office job.

“Life in the U.S. is like that,” he said. “You just go from your desk to your car. I used to drive my car to and from work and eat all day, so I didn’t get any exercise.”