Britain’s ‘fattest man’ dies from organ failure days before 34th birthday
Jason Holton, believed to be one of Britain’s “heaviest men”, died from organ failure just a week before his 34 birthday, his family has said.
Holton died last Saturday in Surrey after doctors were unable to prevent his organs from failing. He weighed an estimated 317kg.
Six firefighters had to transport Holton to the Royal Surrey County Hospital following an ambulance ride, his mother Leisa, 55, told The Sun.
Holton’s kidneys were the first organs to stop working, she said, adding that the doctors said her son would pass away “within a week”.
“Jason soon started to go downhill,” she told the newspaper. “He’s probably had about eight lives and I thought the doctors would be able to save him again, but sadly it wasn’t possible.”
Holton died from organ failure and obesity, the coroner’s report stated.
He lived in a specially adapted council bungalow, custom-built with reinforced furniture for his comfort. In the later part of his life, Holton was immobile, bed-bound and suffered from breathing difficulties.
Holton reportedly began overeating as a teen while grieving his father’s death and went on to consume 10,000 calories a day, which included eating doner kebabs for breakfast.
In an interview with TalkTV last year, he said: “I believe time’s over for me in general. I’m coming up 34 now. I know I’ve got to try something.”
In 2020 he had collapsed and had to be airlifted by crane from a third-floor flat by a team of more than 30 firefighters.
“That was the most devastating time of my life,” he said.
“The terrifying part of it all was the amount of people outside. I did watch The Whale and it did feel like a horror movie to me. I said to my mum, don’t watch it. I turned it off and I started crying.
“I cried myself to sleep at that film. It was very upsetting for me because now I thought I’m Britain’s fattest man, that’s what people are going to think of me,” he added.
Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale is a psychological thriller that stars actor Brendan Fraser, as well as Sadie Sink, Hong Chau, Ty Simpkins and Samantha Morton. The movie is an adaptation of Samuel D Hunter’s play of the same name that follows Charlie, an extremely overweight man with very limited mobility.
Two years later, Holton suffered a series of mini-strokes and a suspected blood clot.
Carl Thompson in 2015 held the record for being Britain’s heaviest man, weighing 412kg.