Society XXL Germans are getting fatter

Society XXL presents some challenges: Germans are getting bigger and heavier

07/16/2012

The people in Germany are getting bigger and heavier on average. This also changes the requirements for medical products and everyday objects. The first aircraft manufacturers are already using XXL seats. Hospitals are increasingly requiring oversized operating tables and other specialized equipment.

The previously valid standards are increasingly losing their validity due to the massive increase in average body weight and height. For example, the personal details of the delivery of lifts are postponed. If seven people previously met a maximum load of 450 kilograms, their average total weight today is significantly higher (over 500 kilograms) and there are only six people allowed to travel. By gaining weight, safety standards may be compromised. Businesses and public institutions are therefore forced to respond.

Two kilos more average weight in the last ten years
The average height and weight of the population have been steadily increasing for decades. Among other things, this involves changing requirements for technical products, medical equipment and means of transport. According to the figures of the Federal Statistical Office, the average weight in the years 1999 to 2009 in Germany has increased by about two kilograms. The average German weighs 75.6 kilograms today with a height of 172 centimeters (women: 68.1 kilograms at 1.65 meters, men: 83.4 kilograms at 1.78 meters), as recent evaluations of the Federal Statistical Office showed. Therefore, for example, manufacturers of means of transport such as airplanes, cars or elevators must take into account the continuing increase in body weight and height in their concepts.

Airplane seats XXL
For example, the spokeswoman for the aircraft manufacturer Airbus, Zuzana Hrnkova, explained to the news agency "dpa" that in the A 320 as the best-selling medium-range aircraft of the Group already built broader seats, as "people are getting bigger and bigger, especially the children." Depending on the general equipment of the aircraft, up to 60 of the 180 seats in the A320 are extra-wide, the Airbus spokeswoman continues. The XXL seats are basically on the aisle and offer according to Airbus about five inches more space than the normal aircraft seats with their almost 46 centimeters. According to Zuzana Hrnkova, however, the wider seats are not only built for obese people, but also because many passengers want more space during the flight. For example, "you want more comfort and space for your computers," the Airbus spokeswoman said. Due to the increasing body measurements of the passengers, some airplanes have recently installed extra-spacious toilets, Hrnkova continued.

Cars adapted to the changed body dimensions
Car manufacturers have long been aware of the growing body dimensions of their customers and are continuously adapting their new vehicles to the changing requirements. So the BMW spokesman Michael Rebstock told the "dpa", it was a fact, "that the cars have grown with the people." The spokesman for Audi, Armin Götz, confirmed to the news agency this statement. However, the growing prevalence of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) is not related to the increase in average height and weight.

New concepts in dealing with the increasing body dimensions asked
Although the problem of elevator delivery has already been addressed, safety is taken into account by short-term changes to the maximum number of authorized persons, but this means that significantly fewer people can be transported. If in doubt, some have to take the stairs, which can be a problem especially in modern office buildings with several floors. For this reason, elevator manufacturers are required by their users to rethink their concepts in order to be able to carry as many people in the future as they do today, explained TÜV Süd spokesman Thomas Oberst. According to him, in future "more elevators with a larger footprint will have to be built." The changes in weight and body size, according to Oliver Heiss, director of education and training at the Bavarian Chamber of Architects, also concern the planning of buildings. Hot stressed to the "dpa": "The fact that people are getting bigger and heavier, makes us basically in all areas permanently noticeable - from the height of the stair railing to the width of the bathtub." The standards in force here are postponed, according to the statement of the architect according to the average human dimensions.

Changed claims in clinics
Significant problems arise due to the increasing body dimensions sometimes in health care. In the past, rescue transports were repeatedly reported, in which patients first had to be rescued from their apartment with a crane, because for them the normal route via the stairs was no longer an option. But even beyond such extremes, the increase in average weight and size has implications for health care. The surgeon Christian Jurowich from the Adiposity Center of the University Hospital Würzburg explained in an interview with the "dpa" that clearly "more and more obese patients" have to be treated. Special equipment such as oversized operating tables, extra-wide beds or lifting platforms would be more frequently used. In addition, the procedure on the stomach in the very overweight patients would be much more complicated. Jens Schriewer from the University Hospital Erlangen also reports on special requirements in dealing with heavyweight patients. These patients need "everything in XXL" and more and more often it happens that patients with more than 200 kilograms of body weight are delivered by truck. For her, extra special beds with twice the width of an ordinary hospital bed had been purchased at the University Hospital Erlangen. (Fp)

Also read:
Fixed mealtimes prevent overweight
Naturopathy: pepper for overweight
Naturopathy: Spices lower blood lipid levels