Medical

In 1965, a young Scottish man named Angus Barbieri walked into the University of Dundee hospital with an extraordinary request: “I want to stop eating—completely.” At the time, Angus weighed 207 kilograms (456 pounds) and wasn’t interested in traditional diets or calorie restrictions. He wanted to eliminate food from his life altogether. What sounded like madness at first became one of the most remarkable and carefully monitored fasting experiments in medical history.

Under strict medical supervision, Angus began a fast that was initially intended to last only a few days. He consumed only water, tea, black coffee, and small amounts of vitamins and electrolytes. But something unexpected happened—he didn’t feel hungry. His body efficiently burned through its fat reserves, and he steadily lost weight without major complications. Week after week, month after month, Angus kept going, amazing doctors with his resilience. “I forgot what hunger feels like,” he said at one point.

After 382 days without a single bite of food, Angus ended his fast in July 1966 with a modest meal: a boiled egg, a slice of bread, and some butter. By then, he had lost 125 kilograms, dropping to 82 kilograms (180 pounds). Even more astonishing, he never regained the weight and lived the rest of his life without major health issues. His feat remains the longest recorded fast in medical history. However, doctors strongly caution against repeating such an extreme fast without professional oversight, as it carries significant risks. Still, Angus Barbieri’s journey stands as a powerful story of discipline, transformation, and one of the most unusual medical cases ever recorded.

thanks, Jeff!