Daniel Lambert

Daniel Lambert was born in Leicester, England in 1770. He was a thin child and his parents were normal weight. His weight increased rapidly in his teens. At age 21, he started gaining a lot of weight while working as a Keeper in a Bridewell (a prison for prostitutes, beggers and criminals).

The most widely used method to gauge obesity is the body mass index (BMI), which is equal to weight/height² (in kg/m²). A BMI of 30 is used as a threshold for obesity. Daniel was 5 feet 11 inches tall, so his BMI would have been 130. Genetics contributes approximately one-third to BMI; whereas, environment contributes two-thirds. Daniel never drank and ate moderate meals.

At age 23, Daniel weighed 448 pounds. By 30, he was too large to work. He moved to London at age 36 and weighed 700 pounds. He lived in an apartment and charged five shillings (ten cents) for people to see him. By 34, he weighed 686 pounds. He was a sportsman and hunter.

Obesity is correlated with low socio-economic status.

Massively obese men have low serum testosterone levels. The hormone leptin decreases hunger, so people don't feel hungry when leptin levels are high. The hormone ghrelin increases hunger, so people feel hungry when ghrelin levels are high. Chronic lack of sleep causes decreased leptin and increased ghrelin levels, thereby increasing hunger (especially for foods with high carbohydrates) and appetite.

Increased girth is a risk factor for insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Central obesity is defined by a waist circumference ≥ 102 cm or 40 inches. Daniel's waist circumference was 112 inches.

At age 39, he went to Stamford to see the races. He died of a heart attack He weighed 739 pounds (52 stone 11 pounds)