Walter Hudson (June 5, 1944 – December 24, 1991) was an American man and the holder of the

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for the largest waist circumference, at around. At his heaviest in September 1987, he weighed , making him the heaviest person alive at the time, and the sixth heaviest person in medical history.

Biography

Early Life

Hudson was born in 1945 in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. His father left the family when he was a baby. He was a compulsive eater growing up, and he weighed by the time he was 6 years old. He would often leave home early on the way to school just to eat extra food, collect recyclables for change to buy snacks, and routinely eat late at night. He dropped out of school in the 7th grade after breaking his leg, eventually earning his high school diploma via a tutor. Around age 15, weighing , he became permanently homebound. Hudson and his family moved from Brooklyn to

Hempstead, New York The Town of Hempstead (also known historically as South Hempstead) is the largest of the three Administrative divisions of New York#Town, towns in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County (alongside North Hempstead, New York, North Hempstead and Oys ...

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

when he was 25.

Obesity

While living in Hempstead, Hudson shared a house with his mother until her death in 1984, his brother George, his sister Barbara, and her children. He never went outside his home, both due to strong

agoraphobia Agoraphobia is a mental and behavioral disorder, specifically an anxiety disorder characterized by symptoms of anxiety in situations where the person perceives their environment to be unsafe with no easy way to escape. These situations can in ...

and the difficulty caused by his weight. He stayed in a queen-sized bed all day, only leaving to go to the bathroom, ate food prepared and served to him by his family members, and kept himself occupied by reading the Bible daily. In September 1987, he fell and became stuck in the doorway to his bedroom. His family were unable to remove him, and the Hempstead Fire Department worked for four hours to cut the doorframe and extricate him. Afterwards, Hudson decided to go on a diet with the assistance of comedian-turned-health activist

Dick Gregory Richard Claxton Gregory (October 12, 1932 – August 19, 2017) was an American comedian, civil rights leader, business owner and entrepreneur, and vegetarian activist. His writings were best sellers. Gregory became popular among the Afric ...

. When Gregory's professionals attempted to weigh Hudson, a team of weightlifters had to carry him onto the scale; he overloaded the scale's limit, and his weight was estimated at . The

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

officially recorded his peak weight at , with a waist circumference of , the largest ever recorded; this also made him the heaviest person alive since the death of

Jon Brower Minnoch Jon Brower Minnoch (September 29, 1941 – September 10, 1983) was an American man who, at his peak weight, was the heaviest human ever recorded, weighing . Early life At the age of 12, Minnoch weighed with an estimated height of , and by ...

and the second-heaviest person of all time. After a year of dieting under Gregory's supervision Hudson weighed in September 1988, indicating a weight loss of nearly . He also left his home under his own power for the first time in 18 years. Gregory discontinued his assistance shortly after, citing Hudson's fear of leaving his home as a major impediment in further treatment; other reports suggest it was due to tension between Hudson's family and Gregory's team of live-in care professionals staying in their home. In 1989, a bronchial infection disrupted Hudson's diet and exercise routine, causing him to relapse and regain nearly . Inspired by his difficulty finding clothes that fit him, Hudson started a

mail order Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as: * Sending an order form in the mail * Placing a telephone call * Placing a ...

plus-sized clothing company named Walter Hudson Ventures in 1989 in partnership with a woman named Alexis Blass. It included a women's fashion line named "Invitation to the Dance," which Hudson described as aimed at women "from 200 to 1,000 pounds"; he also had plans to start a plus-sized men's clothing line. Hudson established a relationship with Sunday Cruz, one of his customers, and the two had become engaged by 1991.

Daily diet

Hudson described his typical daily diet as consisting of two boxes of sausages, of bacon, one dozen eggs, and a loaf of bread for breakfast; four Big Macs, four double cheeseburgers, and eight large portions of French fries for lunch; and three large ham steaks or two chickens, four baked potatoes, four sweet potatoes, four heads of broccoli, and most of a large cake for dinner. Each meal would be accompanied by of soda and "the better part of a large cake" for dessert, plus snacks throughout the day. After enlisting Dick Gregory's help, Hudson was put on a strict 1,200 calorie vegetarian diet consisting of fruits, vegetables, Gregory's commercial powdered diet mix, orange juice, and of water.

Death

Walter Hudson died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

at his home on December 24, 1991, at age 47. At the time of his death, he had regained much of the weight he lost, and weighed . Emergency rescuers from the Hempstead Fire Department cut a hole in the bedroom wall to remove his body from the premises. Hudson's funeral was held on January 2, 1992, which was attended by hundreds, including his former nutritional advisor Dick Gregory. He was interred in

Greenfield Cemetery Uniondale is a census-designated place (CDP), as well as a suburb in Nassau County, New York, on Long Island, in the Town of Hempstead. The population was 32,473 at the 2020 United States Census. Uniondale is home to Hofstra University's north ...

in a custom-built coffin that was wide, weighed more than , and required eight pallbearers to carry.

Sources