The ordeal of a 250 kg man who had to sleep sitting up and couldn't fit through doorways

Once consuming 10 sausages and one kilogram of rice per meal, forced to turn sideways to pass through doorways and sleep sitting up, a Chinese man decided to undergo gastric sleeve surgery, fulfilling his father's dying wish to reclaim his life.

Han Panghu (name changed), 28, from Handan city, Hebei province, had been overweight since childhood, reaching 120 kg by his final year of high school, according to Sina. He could still run, exercise, and lead a relatively normal life then. However, a series of family misfortunes subsequently plunged him into depression, leading to an uncontrollable eating habit.

Panghu shared, "Whenever I felt down, I would eat a lot and drink soda. It made me feel better and more comfortable right away. Gradually, I developed an uncontrollable eating habit without even realizing it." He added that he used to be active by going out to look for work, but after a back injury, he stayed home and rarely left the house, further contributing to his weight gain.

His diet consisted of favorite foods like grilled sausages, fried chicken, milk tea, and hamburgers. Panghu could consume 10 grilled sausages at once; a single meal included one kilogram of white rice with a large bowl of food, and an entire bottle of soda. This excessive eating, combined with a sedentary lifestyle, caused his body to rapidly expand.

Han Panghu (name changed). Photo: Sina

In just over 8 years, his weight surged to a record 250 kg. This extreme obesity placed immense strain on his internal organs, forcing Panghu to turn sideways to pass through doorways. He would become breathless after walking just 80 meters and had to sleep sitting on a sofa all night due to respiratory compression. His abdomen even developed lymphedema, requiring his family to order a custom large wheelchair and enlist three people to help push him to medical appointments. Despite numerous attempts to lose weight, intense cravings always led to failure.

Panghu recounted, "Back then, my appetite was enormous, and I ate a lot. Relying solely on willpower made it extremely difficult to control my cravings. Missing even one meal would make me feel restless and agitated."

A turning point arrived in early 2025 when his father suddenly passed away. His father's last wish, that his son lose weight for a better life, became the driving force behind Panghu's decision to seek obesity surgery. After attending a six-month training camp to reduce his weight to 220 kg, ensuring surgical safety and improving his cardiopulmonary function, on 29/5, Director Cao Yuqing and doctor Gao Chengye from the Obesity and Metabolic Disease Center at Handan No. 1 Hospital successfully performed an endoscopic sleeve gastrectomy on him.

Doctors explained that this procedure reshapes the stomach into a smaller, tube-like structure and removes the tissue that secretes the ghrelin hormone, which stimulates appetite. This effectively severs hunger signals to the brain and fundamentally reduces the desire for excessive eating.

Following the surgery, the young man's appetite significantly decreased. He shared, "Now I feel full after eating just half a packet of noodles, and even if I don't eat anything all day, I no longer feel excessively hungry." One and a half months post-surgery, Panghu's weight dropped to 196 kg. He can now sleep normally and take walks in his yard. Panghu stated his immediate goal is to reach approximately 125 kg, followed by excess skin removal surgery, hoping to return to his previous weight of 120 kg and reintegrate into normal life.