In the year 958, King Sancho I of León was so fat that his court forced him into something unprecedented: the first miracle diet

Sancho I of León, nicknamed “the Fat,” was deposed in 958 amid political turmoil, noble conflicts, and accusations tied to his extreme obesity.

The brief portrays his later weight loss treatment as one of Spain’s earliest “miracle diets,” linking health and royal legitimacy in the Middle Ages.

His case is notable for showing how bodily appearance, power struggles, and monastic or courtly intervention could shape a medieval ruler’s fate.