Catrina Raiford

Catrina Raiford is an American woman who was once considered to be the heaviest woman in the world,[1] weighing 955 pounds (433 kg; 68.2 st)[2] on a 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m) frame.[3]

At age 14, she weighed close to 500 pounds (230 kg; 36 st). Her family placed her for eight months in a psychiatric home. As an adult, Raiford continued to gain weight. Unable to deal with her emotional issues, she eventually lost her job and moved back in with her mother.[4]

Raiford became known as the 'Half Tonne Woman'[4] before she lost half her body weight.[5] She was inspired to do that in December 2003, when she had to be “bulldozed out of [her] house” after calling for help due to breathing difficulties.[6] For five years until that point she had been bedridden.[6]

It took Raiford three years to lose close to 300 pounds (140 kg; 21 st).[7] Following that accomplishment in 2005 she became eligible for the gastric bypass surgery and has lost a total of close to 500 pounds (230 kg; 36 st).[6]