This is the astonishing moment firefighters buried a half-tonne obese man in Malaysia, as the country grapples with an obesty crisis.

Twenty officers battled to lift Sheikh Mohd Ali Omar, 44, out of his home in Kota Bharu City in Kelantan state on December 15.

They took him to the Kampung Jaya Cemetery on a five-tonne lorry and laid him to rest at 11:20 pm.

Footage shows the firemen lowering Sheikh's 920lb (420kg) body into the grave using a firehose as a makeshift support. The funeral was attended by dozens of villagers.

Mohd Wildan Azhari, JBPM Assistant Director of Operations at the Kelantan Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM), said: 'We are grateful the burial was completed with support from all parties. Praise be to Allah. All 20 personnel worked together to bring the body to the burial site. We even used a self-made trolley.'

Sheik's sister Hanoraziah Hassan, 60, who rides a wheelchair, had called the firemen after the deceased had trouble standing up from the toilet seat earlier that day. However, he suffered breathing difficulties and passed away shortly after the rescue.

Hanoraziah sought help from local authorities and non-government organisations to complete the funeral preparations.

Malaysia was branded the 'most obese Asian country' in a study by British medical journal The Lancet.

The 2023 National Health and Morbidity Survey showed that more than half of Malaysians were overweight or obese. Experts have blamed the population's growing waistlines on poor food choices and lack of exercise.

Family medicine specialist Associate Professor Dr Verna Lee Kar Mun told local media: 'If not all, most of our restaurants serve highly refined carbo, high fat, high salt, and ultra-processed food. We are spoiled by choices.

'We sit a lot and hardly move. Exercise is rare among Malaysians. Many of my patients say they do not have time to exercise and for those living in low-cost flats, there is no proper venue to encourage physical activity.'

If the trend continues more than two out of every three Malaysia children were projected to be overweight by 2035, the World Obesity Foundation reported.