'World's most overweight man' Keith Martin dies aged 44 after long battle with obesity

Mr Martin, from London, featured in a Channel 5 documentary on his surgery

Keith Martin (Channel 5)

The man believed to be the heaviest in the world has died in London aged just 44.

Keith Martin, who appeared in Channel 5 documentary 70 Stone and Almost Dead, underwent drastic weight loss surgery last year to reduce the size of his stomach.

The documentary followed his two-year battle to lose enough weight for the operation but after its apparent success he discharged himself from hospital early against doctors’ advice.

He was readmitted to Homerton Hospital in October last year with septic shock and dehydration, the Mirror reported, and spent four months being treated before being released home in February.

Mr Martin’s weight had dropped to 39 stone – almost half his peak size – but he died from pneumonia in March.

Before the surgery he had been confined to his home for more than a decade and bedridden for several years under constant care from his sister, Tina, and told of his hope to be able to go out walking after the procedure.

“I'd resigned myself that either I was going to die in my bed or I was going to kill myself,” he said on the documentary.

"But now I think 'you stupid person'. I'm a lot more confident than I used to be. I feel a lot happier.

"In a few months' time I want to be up and walking…I know the only person to blame is me. All those years wasted.”

Mr Martin reportedly ate up to 20,000 calories a day from pizzas, kebabs, takeaways, fast food and fizzy drinks.

His mother had died when he was 16, also from pneumonia, and he said his binge eating was caused by depression, anxiety and agoraphobia – in his case the fear of public places.

On Thursday, his Ms Martin told the Mirror she and her sister Sharon were still grieving.

“We miss him very much,” she added.