Yang Chang stands 1.7m tall - and tips the scales at 120kg.

That puts him in the very, very obese category but the 34-year-old Beijing native is still very, very happy.

That's because only last year, Yang weighed in at 240 kg - and was dubbed the Fattest Man in China.

That was the time, Yang recalled, he had to enter even broad doorways sideways; and took up three seats in a bus.

"When I took taxis, the drivers always made fun of me and said I was tilting the balance of the car," Yang said.

Because of his condition, he lost his job as a mechanic at a steel company last year, and had to subsist on the minimum living allowance granted by the local government.

His 2-m waistline was greeted with curiosity and amazement wherever he went. People pointed to him and sniggered behind his back.

Possibly born with an obesity gene, Yang said he easily outgrew his classmates at elementary school; he weighed 170 kg when he graduated from a technical school in 1997.

The following year proved to be tragic: His mother died, and his girlfriend dumped him and went abroad.

Reeling under the double blow, Yang found solace in eating more and confined himself completely to his room for months.

"I could easily wolf down half a kg of rice and 1.5 kg meat at a time."

His weight started soaring, and peaked at 240 kg, making him the fattest man in China.

"I hadn't noticed the change until one day I suddenly found that I couldn't put my leg in my trousers."