# Aussie mortuaries may need upgrades

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-mortuaries-may-need-upgrades/414550>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [August 5, 2007, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-mortuaries-may-need-upgrades/414550 "2007-08-05T23:20:08Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\
**Post date:** [August 5, 2007, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-mortuaries-may-need-upgrades/414550/1 "2007-08-05T23:20:08Z")

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[Obese Aussies a growing hazard for mortuaries](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20134672/)

Usually when one hears ‘obesity’ one thinks of Americans. But it seems that two-thirds of rural Australians are overweight or obese.

> [@](#):
>
> In the past year, there have also been requests for larger crematorium furnaces, bigger grave plots as well as super-sized ambulances, wheelchairs and hospital beds.

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**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\
**Post date:** [August 5, 2007, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-mortuaries-may-need-upgrades/414550/2 "2007-08-05T23:26:53Z")

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We’re catching up.

The seats for the Olympic stadium in Atlanta were produced by an Australian company, and at the time, there was lots of smug laughter aimed in your direction about how the company had to actually retool to produce seating for the more ample American bottom. I don’t think we’d be able to joke like that these days - it’s becoming quite a problem here. Sadly, the number of very overweight _children_ is a worry.

[_Sydney Morning Herald_ story](http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/in-death-as-in-life-obesity-a-hazard/2007/08/05/1186252546974.html)

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**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\
**Post date:** [August 6, 2007, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-mortuaries-may-need-upgrades/414550/3 "2007-08-06T10:20:06Z")

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You’ll know it’s a real problem when the RFDCA upgrade to Hercules 😉

Si

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**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\
**Post date:** [August 7, 2007, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-mortuaries-may-need-upgrades/414550/4 "2007-08-07T09:56:57Z")

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[QUOTE=TheLoadedDog]  
We’re catching up.

\<snip\>

Sadly, the number of very overweight _children_ is a worry.  
[/QUOTE]

Indeed we are. I’m a nurse (a paediatric nurse, as it happens) and we were yacking the other day about nursing adults and how different it is blah blah. We all agreed that we’d never go back to adults but I thought most of the complaint would be about high acuity, poor staff: patient ratios or abusive patients and/or relatives. Nope, nursing adults is a _whole_ lot worse these days because people are so much fatter. Even though I’ve seen people getting bigger before my very eyes, this aspect had never occurred to me.

But you’re right about the overweight children. Some of those kids are massive. Things have come to a pretty poor pass when we have to use a hoist on a nine year old.