An overweight Australian husband was found dead sitting on a toilet seat in his home in rural Thailand.

Stephen William Saddington, 55, from Wellington, New South Wales, had been using the bathroom when he keeled over at the home in Si Sa Ket on October 28 morning.

His worried wife called the police after finding him leaning lifeless against the tiled bathroom wall with his underwear pulled down to his knees.

Police later arrived and four paramedics carried the 32-stone (200 kilos) Aussie into an ambulance. They believe he had been dead for around four or five hours before he was discovered.

Stephen's wife Nong told police that her husband rarely ventured out of their village and would eat home cooked Thai meals.

Nong said: 'My husband ate a lot of Thai food, so I always thought he was healthy. He could walk around easily and was strong.

'I walked in and found him like that in the morning. I was shocked and quickly called the police.'

Police Captain Kittithat Chantasen of the Phayu Police Station said: ‘We received a report of a foreigner found dead inside the house. He had been renting the house with his wife for around a year.

‘His body was quite large. The autopsy result is pending, so we do not know the cause of death yet.'

Obesity increases the risk of many chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers. It also contributes to high blood pressure, stroke, and joint problems due to added strain on the body