# Can the morbidly obese be cremated?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-morbidly-obese-be-cremated/363916
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [July 10, 2006, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-morbidly-obese-be-cremated/363916 "2006-07-10T19:27:33Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)
#### Post date: [July 10, 2006, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-morbidly-obese-be-cremated/363916/1 "2006-07-10T19:27:33Z")
I know that there are companies that make special coffins for the morbidly obese (700, 1000 lb), but is cremation possible? Can they fit in a standard cremation furnace? If not is there a specialty crematorium they can be shipped to? Or does the staff have to dismember the corpse?
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### Author:  [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)
#### Post date: [July 10, 2006, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-morbidly-obese-be-cremated/363916/2 "2006-07-10T19:38:45Z")
More than you ever wanted to know about cremation of bodies over 300 pounds, from the [Cremation Association of North America](http://www.cremationassociation.org/html/article-weight.html). Short answer: no, it may not be possible to cremate a 700 pound person. Even for smaller people over 300 pounds, certain special procedures need to be followed.
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### Author:  [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)
#### Post date: [July 10, 2006, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-morbidly-obese-be-cremated/363916/3 "2006-07-10T19:42:00Z")
> [@](#):
>
> The Cremation Association of North America has begun providing special training to its members in the handling of obese bodies.
> **[taphophilia.com - taphophilia Resources and Information.](http://www.taphophilia.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=321)**
>
> taphophilia.com is your first and best source for all of the information you’re looking for. From general topics to more of what you would expect to find here, taphophilia.com has it all. We hope you find what you are searching for!
[http://www.matthewscremation.com/manager/file.asp?tableName=tblUniversity&idField=universityId&namePrefix=lgImg&idValue=12](http://www.matthewscremation.com/manager/file.asp?tableName=tblUniversity&idField=universityId&namePrefix=lgImg&idValue=12)
[http://www.cremationassociation.org/docs/DCBA-obese-pg5.pdf](http://www.cremationassociation.org/docs/DCBA-obese-pg5.pdf)
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### Author:  [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)
#### Post date: [July 10, 2006, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-morbidly-obese-be-cremated/363916/4 "2006-07-10T19:43:39Z")
Second link above is a pdf.
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### Author:  [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)
#### Post date: [July 10, 2006, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-morbidly-obese-be-cremated/363916/5 "2006-07-10T19:48:02Z")
So could a person over 700 lb be “divided” into lighter segments and those cremated?
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### Author:  [@Fir\_na\_tine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fir_na_tine)
#### Post date: [July 10, 2006, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-morbidly-obese-be-cremated/363916/6 "2006-07-10T20:06:29Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#):
>
> I know that there are companies that make special coffins for the morbidly obese (700, 1000 lb), but is cremation possible? Can they fit in a standard cremation furnace? If not is there a specialty crematorium they can be shipped to? Or does the staff have to dismember the corpse?
The 750 pound man who died in Ohio. I wondered how they fit him into that little tiny cardboard box.
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### Author:  [@FormerMarineGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FormerMarineGuy)
#### Post date: [July 10, 2006, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-morbidly-obese-be-cremated/363916/7 "2006-07-10T20:53:44Z")
> [@Fir na tine](#):
>
> The 750 pound man who died in Ohio. I wondered how they fit him into that little tiny cardboard box.
The guy died? I could not finish watching the show. My wife and I had a late night dinner before going to bed!
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### Author:  [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)
#### Post date: [July 10, 2006, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-morbidly-obese-be-cremated/363916/8 "2006-07-10T21:07:21Z")
One word.
pyre
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### Author:  [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)
#### Post date: [July 10, 2006, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-morbidly-obese-be-cremated/363916/9 "2006-07-10T21:56:00Z")
**Can the morbidly obese be cremated?**
It seems a tad extreme. We should at least wait until they die.
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### Author:  [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)
#### Post date: [July 10, 2006, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-morbidly-obese-be-cremated/363916/10 "2006-07-10T21:58:59Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#):
>
> **Can the morbidly obese be cremated?**
>
> It seems a tad extreme. We should at least wait until they die.
I thought the exact same thing, but then I figured that if the fatty in question was still alive, it would be more a “BBQ” than a cremation, really.
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [July 11, 2006, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-morbidly-obese-be-cremated/363916/11 "2006-07-11T08:05:10Z")
> [@Fir na tine](#):
>
> The 750 pound man who died in Ohio. I wondered how they fit him into that little tiny cardboard box.
When fat burns, most of the products are gaseous; the amount of non-combustible ash left at the end should not be vastly different.
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### Author:  [@gabriela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gabriela)
#### Post date: [July 11, 2006, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-morbidly-obese-be-cremated/363916/12 "2006-07-11T09:52:52Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#):
>
> So could a person over 700 lb be “divided” into lighter segments and those cremated?
Yeah, sure. Not that we’re going to dismember him. (Could, but it’s a lot of work, and would be looked on by most people as disgusting.) Just get him an autopsy. During the autopsy, I’ll remove all the internal organs, which will have a combined weight in a morbidly obese person of, oh, perhaps… lessee, heart 750 gm, each lung 750, liver 3000, each kidney 300, crap I don’t know the weight of the guts… well, including three liters of blood and a whole lot of internal fat, say I take out twelve kilograms. I know, that’s not much, but it’s a start, right? Now I can do a pannectomy (remove the abdominal fat that hangs down) in large sections. It’d be extra work for me, but I wouldn’t mind if it’s to allow the person a cremation. When I finish, you can fold the sides of the belly into the cavity vacated by the organs, and he oughta fit. If he doesn’t, I can carve a little more.
Naturally the removed pieces will be returned with the body in a plastic bag, and can be added to the cremation as everything else begins to fit.
For a bonus, you will also have an exact cause of death, and perhaps aid science by documenting grossly and microscopically what being that obese did to the microvasculature of the deceased’s organs.
For negative, unless he dies in a hospital and you can convince the hospital to take on the job, you will have to pay for the autopsy. Because no medical examiner is going to accept the case unless it’s a murder. Morbid obesity at that level doesn’t need an explanation for death on the taxpayer’s dollar.
Let’s not think about him being murdered. Egad.
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### Author:  [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)
#### Post date: [July 11, 2006, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-morbidly-obese-be-cremated/363916/13 "2006-07-11T10:10:37Z")
> [@FormerMarineGuy](#):
>
> The guy died? I could not finish watching the show. My wife and I had a late night dinner before going to bed!
What show was this?
> [@gabriela](#):
>
> Yeah, sure. Not that we’re going to dismember him. (Could, but it’s a lot of work, and would be looked on by most people as disgusting.) Just get him an autopsy.
_(with apologies in advance…)_
Oh, I can see it now - two guys standing in the morgue with this huge corpse.
GUY #1: You know, the family wants him cremated
GUY #2: He’ll never fit in the furnance
#1: Well, I got this table saw at home… we could dismember him…
#2: No we can’t! That would be _disrespectful!_ Great Og, if the family ever found out…
#1: Well… maybe could scoop out his guts and do them separately…?
#2: We can’t do that either… hey, wait a minute…
#1: AUTOPSY!!
#1: I’ll call the coroner…
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [July 11, 2006, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-morbidly-obese-be-cremated/363916/14 "2006-07-11T10:36:58Z")
I can’t imagine the crematorium staff would be all that handle the job in two installments, particularly if one of them consists of a flaccid plastic-wrapped assortment of body parts.
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [July 11, 2006, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-morbidly-obese-be-cremated/363916/15 "2006-07-11T10:37:59Z")
I can’t imagine the crematorium staff would be all that **happy to** handle the job in two installments, particularly if one of them consists of a flaccid plastic-wrapped assortment of body parts.
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### Author:  [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)
#### Post date: [July 11, 2006, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-morbidly-obese-be-cremated/363916/16 "2006-07-11T11:36:16Z")
> [@CynicalGabe](#):
>
> One word.
>
> pyre
I dunno about if there’s a way to do that sensitively. A pyre takes a while to get hot enough to combust that much flesh instead of just kind of roasting/smoking it. You’d have to build a large pyre, let it get going for an hour or so, and then kind of drop the body on it. Not exactly sensitive to observers. But, it would get the job done.
Or you could go Gilbert Grape and just set the house on fire. But again, I wouldn’t count on that getting the whole job done, not unless it were a cedar house with a lot of wicker and wood furniture.
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### Author:  [@Fir\_na\_tine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fir_na_tine)
#### Post date: [July 11, 2006, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-morbidly-obese-be-cremated/363916/17 "2006-07-11T12:13:51Z")
> [@Broomstick](#):
>
> What show was this?
The Learning Channel — The 750 Pound Man
Meet John Keitz. He has not left his bed in seven years because his legs simply cannot handle the weight of his massive body. He is severely, morbidly obese. Follow his journey as he tries to lose the weight that is slowly robbing him of his life.
John died of heart failure. I had to leave the room briefly at the very end and I think they said that the open sores on his skin had brought on a systemic infection of some type that his weak heart just could not cope with.
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### Author:  [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)
#### Post date: [July 11, 2006, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-morbidly-obese-be-cremated/363916/18 "2006-07-11T12:16:25Z")
> [@CynicalGabe](#):
>
> One word.
>
> pyre
2 words
Thermite grenade
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### Author:  [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)
#### Post date: [July 11, 2006, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-morbidly-obese-be-cremated/363916/19 "2006-07-11T15:03:30Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#):
>
> 2 words
>
> Thermite grenade
Oooo, [that’s dangerous.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploding_whale)
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### Author:  [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)
#### Post date: [July 11, 2006, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-morbidly-obese-be-cremated/363916/20 "2006-07-11T15:14:25Z")
> [@Bytegeist](#):
>
> Oooo, [that’s dangerous.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploding_whale)
Um…not explosives.
Heat only.
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