Manuel Uribe, World's Fattest Man - Dead? False Rumors on the Internet

With a recent airing on The Learning Channel of two shows about Manuel Uribe ("World's Heaviest Man" and "World's Heaviest Man Gets Married"), a spate of rumors about Manuel Uribe's death has circulated around the internet, with several blogs reporting Manuel Uribe's death as fact.

Upon further investigation, there are no official reports that Manuel Uribe has died or is in danger of dying. In fact, Manuel Uribe is in excellent health despite his top weight of approximately 1,250 pounds. According to Manuel Uribe's doctors, he does not have any of the diseases commonly associated with obesity - his blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol are normal and he does not have diabetes. Nor, despite the rumors swirling, did Manuel Uribe die of a heart attack. His only real health issue related to his weight is circulation issues in his legs.

Manuel Uribe and Claudia Solis were married In October of 2008, which was the focus of the TLC show, "World's Heaviest Man Gets Married". Check the TLC website for future airings.

So why, suddenly, are the rumors of Manuel Uribe's death swirling about the internet? Most likely because another morbidly obese man, who reached out to Manuel Uribe for help and lives near him in Mexico, did recently die. Jose Luis Garza died of congestive heart failure in 2008 and his death was widely reported. Apparently because he was fat and Manuel Uribe is fat, many people assumed they are the same person and erroneously reported that it was Manuel Uribe who died.

Until Manuel Uribe's family speaks up, we can assume that Manuel Uribe is alive and well, and has not died. He is reportedly working on a website for the Manuel Uribe Foundation in order to educate others about healthy eating and safe weight loss. Mr. Uribe opted to follow a healthy diet rather than subject his body to Weight Loss Surgery (WLS) and the most recent reports state he's lost nearly 550 pounds following this plan.

If you hear of more recent news about Manuel Uribe, or have factual information about his death, please contact this writer.

Sources:

ABC News, Second Chance At Life and Love, C.Bouchardeau, S.Nolan, A.Reynolds
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=5276221&page=1

TLC, World's Heaviest Man & World's Heaviest Man Gets Married, aired 02/15/09 & 02/16/09 http://tlc.discovery.com/tv-schedules/series.html?paid=2.1213.55813.33717.2

Times Online, 990lb man Jose Luis Garza Dies After Bedroom Rescue Drama, J.Booth, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article4906188.ece