THE world’s most obese man has died from a heart attack at the age of 38.

    Andres Moreno, who weighed 980 pounds (445.5 kilograms) at his heaviest, passed away on the morning of Christmas Day while he was being rushed to hospital from his home in Ciudad Obregon in Sonora, Mexico.

    He suffered a fatal heart attack in the ambulance and could not be revived, his publicist said.

    “Andres died at 8:30 a.m. on Christmas Day in an ambulance from a heart attack as he was taken from his house to San Jose Hospital,” publicist Carmen Palacios said in a statement Saturday.

    Speaking to Univision via telephone, Palacios added, “We are dismayed by the news.”

    Moreno, who weighed 700 pounds at the time of his death, was buried in his home state Saturday.

    His death comes just a month after football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo reduced him to tears by sending him a signed Real Madrid shirt in a bid to encourage him to lose weight and get healthy.

    At the time, Moreno said, “I want to thank everyone, especially Ronaldo, for taking interest in my case. Sometimes you think that people live in another world way from the people, but that is not the case.”

    The signed jersey was sent to Moreno by Ronaldo shortly before the man underwent weight-loss surgery at a Mexico hospital after losing a staggering 266 pounds naturally, according to Metro.

    Moreno still weighed more than 700 pounds when he went under the knife. It took a team of seven staff to help hoist him out of bed and onto a reinforced stretcher so he could be taken to the hospital.

    The patient had hoped to lose more than 800 pounds in weight — to take him down to 175 pounds — following the operation, allowing him to fulfill his dreams of finding a wife and even starting a family.

    Before the surgery, he said he knew there was a risk, but that he would die if he did not have it.

    He added that he hoped to set up an organization to help other obese people get back into shape. “I want to show them that no matter how large they are, there is hope,” he said from his bed.

    (SD-Agencies)