How a wholly unexpected royal intervention transformed the life of the heaviest man alive.

We’re well versed in incredible weight loss stories here at DMARGE — just take this guy’s controversial 6-month transformation that revealed an awkward truth about male fitness or the recent breakthrough ‘beige fat’ discovery as prime examples. However, few tales embody quite such a remarkable turnaround as this one…

Khalid bin Mohsen Shaari, once decreed to be the heaviest man alive, shed an astonishing 542 kilograms thanks largely to the unlikely intervention of Saudi Arabia’s then-King Abdullah. The comeback story began when Khalid — who weighed a life-threatening 610 kilograms (1,345 pounds) and was not only the heaviest person alive but the second heaviest person to ever have lived — reached out for some long-overdue help and received a response from a wholly unexpected source.

Your Highness’ Intervention

In 2013, Khalid had been bedridden for over three long years due to his massive weight, leaving him entirely dependent on the support of friends and family to fulfil his basic needs. His condition became so severe that it caught the attention of King Abdullah, who, moved by Khalid’s plea for help, helped assemble a comprehensive and costly plan to save his life. The King’s offer was simple: access to the best medical care available, at no cost, to help Khalid regain his health.

A crack team of 30 medical professionals were quickly brought together, and using a forklift and a specially designed bed, Khalid was transported from his home in the southern city of Jazan to King Fahd Medical City in Riyadh. There, he was placed under the care of a dedicated team that devised a strict treatment regimen, combining both surgical and therapeutic approaches.

Khalid’s Journey

Khalid’s treatment included a gastric bypass surgery and a carefully customised diet and exercise plan tailored to his (very) unique needs. Were they not backed by some of the best scientists the Middle East has to offer, the results would be considered nothing short of miraculous. Within just six months, Khalid lost nearly half of his body weight. The rapid nature of this first-phase transformation was a testament to the extensive care he received, which also included intensive physiotherapy sessions to help him regain his long-lost mobility.

By the end of his journey, last reported in 2023, Khalid had lost an incredible 542 kilograms, bringing him down to a healthy 63.5 kilograms (140 pounds). The physical transformation was so dramatic that, as is often the case with people who manage to shed such huge amounts of weight, it required a number of excess skin removal surgeries.

Today, Khalid bin Mohsen Shaari is known affectionately in the region as “The Smiling Man”, coined by the medical staff who witnessed his journey. Khalid’s story is an inspiring one but also makes clear the massive financial and logistical efforts that can often be required to help someone in such desperate need. Weight loss can so often come with an unfortunately hefty price tag and, while this man was lucky enough to enjoy royal backing, many are not.