Who was the heaviest U.S. President to be elected?

Wiliam Howard Taft was the largest U.S. President in our history. He was a little under 6 feet tall and weighed in at close to 350 pounds, gaining much of that weight while he was in office. His nicknames aptly enough were "Big Lub" and "Big Bill Taft."

During his Presidency he urged Congress to pass an amendment creating an income tax that he said was necessary to offset the government deficit. The bill actually became law in 1913. Taft served only one term as President and left office in 1914. His life-long ambition had never been the Presidency but had been a seat on the Supreme Court. He achieved that ambition when he was appointed Chief Justice after the death of Edward White. During his time on the Supreme Court, Howard Taft never wrote a dissenting opinion, saying "I would not think of opposing the views of my brethren if there is a majority against my own." In February of 1930, heart problems forced Taft to resign from the Court. He died one month later.