Weight class titans: the story of Katrina Rayford 454 kg – and Mills Darden – 463 kg

Katrina Rayford 454 kg

Katrina Rayford, one of the heaviest women in the world, reached a weight of 454 kg with a height of only 1.57 m. Already at the age of 12, the girl weighed an amazing 230 kg, and her parents could not cope with her problem of overeating and rapidly growing weight.

On the advice of doctors, Katrina was sent for treatment to a psychiatric clinic. However, as an adult woman, Rayford continued to gain weight due to unresolved psychological problems caused by the abuse she experienced. Soon she lost the ability to walk, being left without work and returning to her parents. From 1998, Katrina was forced to spend five years bedridden until, in 2003, she had to call an ambulance due to complaints of shortness of breath.

After three years in the hospital and under the close supervision of doctors, Katrina managed to lose 140 kg. In 2005, an operation was performed to reduce the stomach, which allowed her to eventually reduce her weight by 230 kg.

Mills Darden – 463 kg

Mills Darden is recorded in history as one of the heaviest people in the world, weighing 463 kg, and at the same time one of the tallest overweight people, he was 230 cm tall and had a waist circumference of 2 m. Born in 1799 in Northampton, North Carolina, Mills was an ordinary boy who worked on a farm with his parents at the beginning of his life.

However, at the age of 10, Mills began to grow rapidly and gain weight, which became a problem for his work life. When extra pounds became an obstacle to working on a farm, Mills decided to open his own tavern. Soon, his unusual appearance became a living advertisement for his business, attracting visitors.

Despite his difficulties, Mills twice found family happiness and became the father of seven children. Fortunately for them, they did not inherit from their father unusual genes that predispose them to enormous height and weight.

Mills Darden passed away at the age of 56, dying in his sleep from suffocation. His story is a reminder that the human body can take on many shapes and sizes, and that even in difficult conditions and with unusual physical features, people can find their place in life and build happy families.

Today, when problems with excess weight are becoming more urgent, the story of Mills Darden reminds us of the need to pay attention to one’s health and the importance of scientific research aimed at studying the causes of obesity and developing effective methods to combat it.

To be continued…

See also: the heaviest people in the world – Michael Edelman – 450 kg and Hai David Ron – 454 kg.