Eman Ahmed Abdul Atti, who was once considered the world’s heaviest woman, weighing more than 1,000 pounds, died at 37 from complications due to heart disease and kidney dysfunction on Monday. Abdul Atti, born in Egypt, was in Abu Dhabi seeking treatment for a rare genetic thyroid condition which contributed to her extreme obesity. Her body mass index was 252, leading to multiple strokes, type 2 diabetes and many other health problems. She didn’t leave her home for 25 years until making it to Mumbai for treatment in February. Abdul Atti’s sister, Shaimaa Selim, was her fiercest champion, raising money and reaching out to doctors until she found Dr. Muffazal Lakdawala in Mumbai, who offered to treat Abdul Atti pro bono. Dr. Lakdawala created a blog, Save Eman, with her family to document her recovery. Dr. Lakdawala stopped updating after Abdul Atti left his treatment in May, but said she was “stable” and “in good health.” The doctors in Mumbai were able to help her lose nearly 700 pounds through bariatric weight loss surgery before she was flown to Burjeel Hospital in Abu Dhabi for further rehabilitation. A July report in Abu Dhabi’s The Nationalsaid she was steadily improving, regaining speech after one of her strokes and that doctors had hoped to have her back home to Egypt within in a year. According to a statement from Burjeel Hospital, Abdul Atti was under the care of over 20 doctors. It’s unclear if she was in surgery at the time of her death. Source
