An obese U.S. inmate charged with murder in Arkansas is suing the county, claiming he lost more than 100 pounds due to the poor jailhouse menu.

Broderick Lloyd Laswell, who is 20 years old, has filed a prisoner civil rights lawsuit in court yesterday, complaining he dropped to 22 stone after eight months during which the jail didn’t provide him with enough food.

Laswell claims he weighed 413 pounds when he was jailed in September. He was arrested for fatally beating and stabbing a man, together with a co-defendant. He then set the victim's house on fire.

"On several occasions I have started to do some exercising and my vision went blurry and I felt like I was going to pass out," Laswell wrote. "About an hour after each meal my stomach starts to hurt and growl. I feel hungry again."

The inmate insists that physical exercise is certainly not a reason for his weight loss.

"The only reason we lost weight in here is because we are literally being starved to death," he says.

Laswell also asks that the county be ordered to serve hot meals instead of cold meals all the time.

The prison says the meals offered to inmates average 3,000 calories a day, like any typical Western diet.

Apparently, that is not enough for Laswell, who complains that "about an hour after each meal my stomach starts to hurt and growl."