In 1965, a 207-kilo Scotsman began a 382-day fast under medical supervision. But how could his body survive without food for so long?
If there’s one thing doctors can’t quite agree on, it’s fasting. Some find this method miraculous while others scream mortal danger. Indeed, many people have already died from not eating for too long. In 1965, however, a 27-year-old Scotsman who was morbidly obese went without solid food for 382 days, earning him entry into the Guinness book of records in 1971.
In 1965, Angus Barbieri went to the University Hospital in Dundee, Scotland. He is in relatively good health but would like help to lose weight. Because Angus weighs 207 kgs, which, unsurprisingly, weighs on his social and sentimental life. The doctors then suggested that he fast for an indefinite period.
“It was not originally planned to make the fast last so long but since he adapted so well and wanted to reach his ideal weight, he went ahead and achieved the longest fast ever” , say the doctors of the University of Dundee School of Medicine in a 1973 article in the Postgraduate Medical Journal.
For more than a year, Angus drinks water, tea and herbal teas. Although he does not eat any solid food, the doctors give him potassium and sodium supplements, vitamins and small doses of yeast because the latter contains proteins.
125 pounds lost in 382 days
And of course, fasting takes place under close supervision. The young man goes regularly to the hospital where his blood pressure, his urine, his blood glucose level and his plasma electrolyte concentrations are checked. Unsurprisingly, these levels decrease over the months. Never mind, Angus remains in good shape and in good spirits. “Despite the hypoglycemia (low blood sugar level, editor’s note), the patient did not present symptoms, felt well and walked normally”, thus describes the report of the doctors, specifying that Angus has no symptoms. bowel movements only every 37 to 48 days.
Then, after 382 days, he finally reached his ideal weight: 81 kg. He lost 125 kgs. He then decides to stop. “Except that I feel a little weak, I don’t feel sick,” he told the press, adding that he no longer remembered the taste of real food. His first meal after fasting: a boiled egg and a slice of bread. “I really enjoyed my egg and I feel completely filled,” he says with amusement.
“Therapeutic and supervised fasting of an obese patient can work in a safe way”, then conclude the doctors, noting however that “prolonged fasting treatment” must be used with great caution. And to thank Barbieri for his “cooperation and his will”. An iron will indeed since, six years later, the Scot has only regained 7kgs. He is happy and finally has a girlfriend with whom he will have two children.
Tapping into body fat stores
If his story has everything of a fairy tale, a question arises: how Angus Barbieri was able to hold without eating for more than a year?
If you eat throughout the day, your body will get most of its energy from glucose in your blood and liver. Cells use it to synthesize ATP, a molecule that carries energy within cells. And if no glucose is immediately available in the blood or liver, the body is able to produce it from glycogen, a long chain of glucose stored in the liver and muscles. What’s more, the body can break down natural fat into glycerol, which can then be converted into glucose and free fatty acids. These can be converted into ketone bodies.
Angus Barbieri having extremely abundant stores of glycerol, located in the clumps of his body fat, he was able to live through this process for an incredibly long period of time. However, since the body cannot produce certain essential nutrients and vitamins on its own, the Scot would most likely have died without the potassium, sodium and yeast supplements given to him by the doctors.
Throughout history, with the exception of Angus Barbieri, the longest fasts have occurred in political protest. During his life, Gandhi went on at least 14 hunger strikes, lasting a maximum of 21 days. In 1920, members of the Irish Republican Army fasted for 94 days in Cork Prison, Ireland. More recently, Ukrainian film director, screenwriter and producer Oleh Sentsov made headlines by stopping to eat from May to October 2018 to protest against his arrest by the Russians.
Prolonged fasting can be very dangerous and is not recommended. If you want to lose weight, talk to a health professional who will tell you what to do.
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