Story By: Lisa-Maria Goertz, Sub-Editor: Joana Mihajlovska, Agency: Newsflash

Russia’s fattest woman has died after losing almost 24 stone in two years.

Natalya Rudenko was described by Russian media as the country’s fattest woman. She caught COVID-19 in autumn 2020 and reportedly never fully recovered.

Two years ago, the then 36-year-old woman weighed 280 kilogrammes (44 stone), despite measuring just 5.4 feet.

Natalya then got married and underwent an amazing transformation, dropping 150 kilogrammes (23.6 stone).

At the time, she told local media: “At first, I couldn’t believe my weight loss. I saw the numbers on the scales getting smaller, but I never realised it.”

Natalya reportedly caught COVID-19 in autumn 2020 and although she recovered from the virus, she continued to struggle with her health.

She said: “I had it very hard even though I stayed at home. In truth, I was just dying, it was so hard.”

In an interview with Newsflash in January, she said: “I don’t want to talk to journalists anymore.

“I do not want to open my heart to the whole country. I experienced so much negativity as pain after my story was published.

“There are drawbacks, I see them and we still have to fight them, it’s difficult, both morally and materially.”

Natalya’s health continued to deteriorate and she was eventually taken into hospital.

Relatives told the newspaper Life: “First she was in the 16th hospital, then in the 22nd, and they found a hole in her lungs. Then she was urgently transported to the regional hospital where she died.”

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