575-Pound Heart Attack Grill Spokesman Dies at 29
A 575-pound man who gained a measure of fame as spokesman for the Heart Attack Grill -- a Phoenix-area restaurant that unabashedly touts its unhealthy, high-calorie menu -- has died.
Friends of 29-year-old Blair River say he died Tuesday, possibly from contracting pneumonia after a bout with the flu.
Restaurant founder Jon Basso says that River was more than the larger-than-life caricature he portrayed in promoting the restaurant in Chandler, which includes huge hamburgers, milkshakes and fries cooked in lard on its menu.
Basso says River was a creative genius who had been planning to take part in the shooting of a promotional spot called, "Heart Attack Grill: The Musical."
"Even if he was skinny we would have given him the job," Basso told the newspaper. "We would have just put a fat suit on him. He just had personality."
The 6-foot-8 River was an Arizona state heavyweight wrestling champion in 1999.
At 575 pounds, River was considered to be morbidly obese, typically defined as someone who is more than 100 pounds overweight or has a body mass index of 40 or above. River's BMI would have been 63, which is calculated by multiplying a person's weight by 703 and then dividing it by his height in inches squared.
In addition to increasing a person's risk of cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol, obesity can also lower the immune system, make breathing difficult and make it harder to fight infections.
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