The biggest loser

The world's fattest man, according to the Guinness Book of Records, proudly announced Tuesday he dropped 230 kilograms (570 pounds), nearly half his original weight in less time than doctors had expected.

"I'm going to throw a big party," Manuel Uribe told AFP by telephone. "I'm getting out of my house and going for a walk" in Monterrey, where he lives in northern Mexico.

Uribe, 42, weighed in at 570 kilos (1,257 pounds) at his heaviest and for five years has been bed-ridden at his home, where his mother and fiancee help him.

Doctors from neighboring United States, Italy and Mexico for two years have been helping Uribe lose weight through dieting and exercise. His goal, he said, is dropping to a slim 120 kilos (265 pounds) in four more years.

On March 9, Uribe will be lifted out of his house on his bed by a special crane and driven around on a flat-bed truck.

"I feel great," he said. "The doctors say I'm healthier than ever."