A MAN who weighed more than three baby elephants and lived on his sofa has been found dead after he vowed to shed pounds.

       Leonid Andreev had been a prisoner in his own home for five years weighing 44 stone but he had just started to turn his life around.

       2

       Leonid Andreev spend five years living on the sofa and being cared for by neighbours Credit: Newsflash

       Only a day before Andreev died he had told local media how he was planning a new life of losing weight and moving to a city apartment.

       The 60-year-old revealed that he had started a new diet with just a cup of light soup for lunch.

       He said: "I tried to lose at least a little weight - I ate less and did not indulge in flour products."

       Andreev's body was discovered in his village home in Armizonskoye, Russia, on November 17 after he suffered a heart attack.

       read more on Russia TOUCHED A NERVE Kremlin issues Zelensky threat after 5 attempts on his life revealed

       CREME DE LA KREMLIN Inside Putin’s $1BN superyacht armada from racy mirror to gold loo roll

       Andreev had shocked reporters when he told them that he once used to be an athlete, weighing in at just 11 stone.

       Ten years ago, he was a hunter, ran his own farm, and took part in harvesting the crops.

       He said his weight problems began when he left a career in the army.

       In just three months, his weight nearly doubled to 16 stone and it never stopped rising.

       Most read in The Sun

       YOB CHAOS Cop 'engulfed in flames' in clashes with Legia Warsaw fans before Aston Villa tie

       OFFLINE Hundreds of Three users without signal and internet as network suffers outage

       DON'T YELL NELL Real reason Nella Rose has stopped arguing with Nigel Farage on I'm A Celeb

       GLAM SHOW Kate & Wills receive standing ovation - after royals in ‘racism’ storm are named

       Doctors apparently told him that his weight gain was caused by a metabolic disorder.

       Five years ago Andreev's size had ballooned so much he had to quit work and he began his reclusive life on the sofa.

       In an ongoing health crisis, his blood pressure soared so high he called for an ambulance but after controlling his symptoms paramedics refused further aid because of Andreev's weight.

       Andreev described a miserable existence and said for five years he lived and slept on his sofa watching TV all day while neighbours helped clean and take care of his house.

       He shared his monotonous daily routine, "In the morning, I get up, cook food, eat a little, watch TV. Tried to move here, move there.

       "I used to have porridge - the heaviest, well, and buns, potatoes, bread. That's how I got fat, probably," he said.

       Andreev was married and divorced twice and had no children.

       Doctors had warned him he had to lose at least seven stone to be able to live normally again, but he waited too late to act.

       Despite Andreev's astonishing mass there are others even heavier.

       The fattest man who ever lived, Jon Brower Minnoch, weighed 100 stone.

       Despite Andreev's astonishing mass, there are others who have surpassed his huge size.

       The fattest man who ever lived weighed a whopping 100 stone while the fattest man alive today weighed an astonishing 93 stone.

       2

       He was recently found dead in his home despite declaring he wanted to be healthier Credit: Newsflash