Products for the overweight

The populations of many countries in the EU and North America have seen a rapid rise in the levels of obesity. Just 15 to 20 years ago seeing someone who was excessively overweight was almost a rarity, now it covers up to 30% of the population. We even have a name for this – bariatrics.

Why so many people are obese is one question. Obviously it relates to a lack of exercise, poor diet and a minimal degree of self worth. However, given that there appears to be no slowing down of this trend, the next question is how can society and the people whom obesity affects deal with it?

One possible solution is better dietary advice, but this information has always been there and is simply ignored. Another option is to make people aware of the health benefits of exercise and staying in shape. But yet again this is nothing new and everyone knows that being obese and being healthy do not go hand in hand.

The honest fact is that an increasingly large proportion of many populations simply make the decision that they would rather eat excessive amounts of unhealthy food and lead a sedentary lifestyle. This is of course nothing more than a lifestyle choice and one that anyone and everyone is perfectly entitled to make – just like smoking or consuming large quantities of alcohol.

So what is the other way of looking at the obesity situation?

It is simply to accept that this is a continuing trend that is endemic of many modern societies and that, rather than trying to remove obesity, we should look at how to live with it.

This leads on to the relatively new specialism in medical science called bariatrics. Bariatrics is the branch of medicine that concerns itself with obesity, its causes, its treatments, and helping people who are excessively big to live comparatively normal lives. It is a rapidly growing area of medicine.

One way of doing the latter is to gain the assistance of occupational therapists, but the other is to use a massive range and variety of bariatric aids, products and gadgets that help someone to compensate for their obesity.

Bariatric aids come in all manner of sizes and applications. These cover mobility scooters with heavy duty chassis and very wide seats that make it possible for a large person to retain their independence and mobility. They also include much smaller aids like devices that can help someone get dressed, and larger stronger toilet seats that are suited to much bigger bodies and their corresponding weight.

A range of aids for the bariatric sector can be found in some mobility and disability shops. Many of these aids are developments or amended versions of other previously existing medical aids, but with the addition of widening, strengthening and support alterations to make them suitable for large and heavy people.