ccowden 0 #1 April 25, 2006 There is an article in today's local paper about how maufacturers across the board are having to make new products to accomodate obese people in America. Products that simply weren't needed NEARLY as much as little as 10 years ago. For instance, they talk about Emergency Medical Services needing to buy 700lb. power-lift stretchers because what was once a need every now and again, has now become a very common occurance. Also, hospitals have had to "upgrade" for wider beds with beefier supports and motors, wider more hefty wheelchairs, wider doorways, longer needles to get through the fat layers, larger CT scan machines, wider showers, wider more hefty toilets, larger gowns and extra-sized slippers. All this at a cost to taxpayers of $117 billion a year. The article goes on to talk about how even funeral homes have had to invest in wider and deeper caskets to accomodate the obese. One funeral director said that 10 years ago there was one model of larger casket that was not needed very often, but now they have 15 to 20 different models available and a pretty high need for them. And it goes on and on. Pretty much every business in America has had to make the same "upgrades" with chairs, doorways, clothes, handrails, bathrooms, furniture, couch and seat cushions, tractors, motorcycles, bicycles, car interiors and seats, etc, etc..... Pretty intersting article. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkydiveStMarys 0 #2 April 25, 2006 Chris...are you saying there are fat people out there?? And here I thought they were just big boned. BobbiA miracle is not defined by an event. A miracle is defined by gratitude. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kid_Icarus 0 #3 April 25, 2006 we like to be called "husky" ________________________________________ "What What..... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Icon134 0 #4 April 25, 2006 Yes, Obesity in general is becoming a problem in our society... Livin' on the Edge... sleeping with my rigger's wife... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NtheSeaOrSky 0 #5 April 25, 2006 Just about every other report I type includes the line "Examination is severely limited due to patient body habitus" = too fat for imaging equipment to work I know a friend who owns a casket store, and the oversized caskets are in such need, people are traveling across states to get them because they are difficult to keep in stock. Life is not fair and there are no guarantees... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riddler 0 #6 April 25, 2006 I'm hoping everyone gets bigger so they have to make the seats larger on airlines. I stay the same skinny weight, and suddenly coach feels like first class.Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Icon134 0 #7 April 25, 2006 QuoteI'm hoping everyone gets bigger so they have to make the seats larger on airlines. I stay the same skinny weight, and suddenly coach feels like first class. Damn I hadn't thought of that... Livin' on the Edge... sleeping with my rigger's wife... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
livendive 8 #8 April 25, 2006 QuoteI'm hoping everyone gets bigger so they have to make the seats larger on airlines. I stay the same skinny weight, and suddenly coach feels like first class. With an obese person on either side of you and a ticket price consistent with half the passengers per flight... Blues, Dave"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ccowden 0 #9 April 25, 2006 Quotewe like to be called "husky" They mentioned that in the article too. Childrens clothes now come in a "husky" size. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eeneR 1 #10 April 25, 2006 QuoteI'm hoping everyone gets bigger so they have to make the seats larger on airlines. I stay the same skinny weight, and suddenly coach feels like first class. Bwhahaha...I shouldnt laugh at that..but damn..good point! She is not a "Dumb Blonde" - She is a "Light-Haired Detour Off The Information Superhighway." eeneR TF#72, FB#4130, Incauto Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ccowden 0 #11 April 25, 2006 Problem is, the tickets keep going up because the payload is getting heavier. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Icon134 0 #12 April 25, 2006 Quote Problem is, the tickets keep going up because the payload is getting heavier. I think we should get a discount for being less then 200lbs... Livin' on the Edge... sleeping with my rigger's wife... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wmw999 2,148 #13 April 25, 2006 QuoteChildrens clothes now come in a "husky" size"Husky" has existed for at least 40 years, at least in the Sears catalog. But yes, the problem is increasing (try finding a small size in the women's department at Walmart ). Wendy W.There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydiver30960 0 #14 April 25, 2006 WHAT'S WORSE: every EMS agency has a patient or two in their response area that doesn't fit a stretcher of ANY size. We have a guy who goes around 800 lbs who, when he needs to come to the hospital, gets a ride to the ambulance on four backboards (able to support 500 pounds each) that have been lashed together. Then to get him in the ambulance we have to take the cot out, and remove the hardware that holds the cot in place in the back of the ambulance, then we just slide him onto the floor of the ambulance. He takes up the WHOLE FLOOR: the people rendering care on the way to the hospital have to kneel on the bench seats and reach down to check his pulse or BP or whatever. This is definitely a worst-case scenario, but it is a situation that's getting worse. More and more often, we're having to call for additional manpower to get obese clients out of their homes; sometimes six or more EMT's or firefighters to move one patient. In the past, people who were morbidly obese for whatever reason usually died relatively young from problems that either caused or were caused by their obesity: uncontrolled diabetes, heart failure, whatever. Now, we have technology to help them stay alive so much longer, but we can't force them to change their habits, so they just live longer and get fatter. Elvisio "ambulance is now a low-rider" Rodriguez Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yardhippie 0 #15 April 25, 2006 and its because people just dont have a clue or refuse to do anything about it. for example: I was in a chinese resturant today and happend to over hear a conversation between these to large women "oohhhh I should have some vegetables today" "yes me too." 'are you ready to order' "yes i'll have the chicken, sweet and sour soup, but no noodles with the chicken, I want fried rice instead" "i'll have the same and add the vegetables and an egg roll. No wonder they were large. they were eating twice as much as me per person. I realize its an becoming an epidemic. I realize its a tough, brutal, unpleasant fight for some. but geeze, if im half your size and eat half as much. maybe thats a sign. Goddam dirty hippies piss me off! ~GFD "What do I get for closing your rig?" ~ me "Anything you want." ~ female skydiver Mohoso Rodriguez #865 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildWilly 0 #16 April 25, 2006 It would be nice if the seats where wider. The last flight I took I had a fat woman beside me and she kept spreading under the seat arm rest. Made for a very uncomfortable trip. Willygrowing old is inevitable, growing up is optional. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flyangel2 2 #17 April 25, 2006 You could even pay a cheaper price if this idea takes off.May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fireballgrl 0 #18 April 25, 2006 It used to be that small was actually small, Walmart small (4-6) feels more like a medium. I am 26 and people think I am 14 because I am 5'3 and a 100lbs. I'm not complaining :) but America is getting to be too supersized. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skymedic 0 #19 April 25, 2006 Hey, my new job has that exact stretcher. it has a dewalt battery that turns a hydraulic pump for a ram that lifts the patient. best thing in the world. soooo awesome. Marc otherwise known as Mr.Fallinwoman.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
livendive 8 #20 April 25, 2006 QuoteI am 5'3 and a 100lbs. I'm not complaining :) Admitting such things in front of those of us who think short women are hot just might change your mind on that whole "not complaining" thing. Blues, Dave"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedRacer 1 #21 April 25, 2006 QuoteI'm hoping everyone gets bigger so they have to make the seats larger on airlines. I stay the same skinny weight, and suddenly coach feels like first class. With an obese person on either side of you and a ticket price consistent with half the passengers per flight... yep. see my thread "Jabba flies economy" Whenever I'm on a flight I seem to attract the fatties. And the seats are too damn small even for us skinny guys. I am 5' 9" and 155 lbs, so I'm not fat. But those seats are too cramped even for me! It sucks extra when I've got the equivalent of Germany in stretch pants sitting next to me & annexing the Sudetenland of my seat. Speed Racer -------------------------------------------------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ACMESkydiver 0 #22 April 25, 2006 QuoteAll this at a cost to taxpayers of $117 billion a year. Here's a thought, from someone that diets constantly... Take some of that money and use it towards a sponsored health program for people that are genuinely interested in becoming healthier. Not a freaking diet doctor, I mean a whole program: * Healthy eating. Of course * Physical activity. It needs to be customized. i.e., running would help me lose weight, but my knee will not allow it. * Addictions. Many will hinder your health goals. Alcohol, smoking, caffeine, suagr, drugs. They need to be addressed. * Stress and SLEEP. These are becoming so important to health and weight...read any article and it will mention both. Many times a person CAN'T change their lives enough to accomodate these (I know I can't. I just deal with 'em.) * Medication management. It's extremely important to someone trying to lose weight or get healthy. I'm not talking 'diet drugs', I'm talking whatever you may be taking for any other conditions. They sometimes interfere quite a bit with weight loss * A plan for continued success at home using what that individual has available. High-end fancy-shmancy health spas (AKA 'fat farms') are good at this stuff, but the average mom or dad in a family of 4 or 5 can't begin to wish they could afford a $4000/wk health trip. Some of that money could be used in 'scholarship', if you will. Take the person out of their every day environment to give them a chance to focus on their health for a week or two (not their job, spouse, bills, kids, whatever), and help lay the foundation for habits. I don't know anyone that is very overweight that is happy about it. I'm just saying that if money is what people are concerned about, spend some of it to allow motivated people to become healthier and reduce the cost on society as a whole in the long run. Depression is also often a side effect of obesity, and is very costly as well, in dollars and emotional pain... Just a thought.~Jaye Do not believe that possibly you can escape the reward of your action. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedRacer 1 #23 April 25, 2006 QuoteBut yes, the problem is increasing (try finding a small size in the women's department at Walmart it's true in the men's department as well in Walmart & Kmart. The "Big and Tall" section is larger than the regular section. Speed Racer -------------------------------------------------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
windcatcher 0 #24 April 25, 2006 Yes it is becoming a HUGE problem ( no pun intended). I would like to somehow play a part in reducing obesity rates, but there isn't a whole lot I know to do. Mother to the cutest little thing in the world... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yardhippie 0 #25 April 25, 2006 QuoteQuoteBut yes, the problem is increasing (try finding a small size in the women's department at Walmart it's true in the men's department as well in Walmart & Kmart. The "Big and Tall" section is larger than the regular section. amen. Ive recently put some pounds on. but when I was 175lbs (at 6'0") tall I had to order pants now and again b/c none in the lengh I neede would have a waist small enough for me.Goddam dirty hippies piss me off! ~GFD "What do I get for closing your rig?" ~ me "Anything you want." ~ female skydiver Mohoso Rodriguez #865 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
