There's a horrifyingly fascinating article on the front page of yesterday's New York Times ("On the Final Journey, One Size Doesn't Fit All") about the effect that the rising incidence of obesity in the United States is having on the funeral industry.
We've heard the statistics before - 20 percent of all American adults are obese; up from 12.5 percent ten years ago. (Canada is experiencing a similar trend, though not to the same extent). And we've heard how this affects the manufacturers of airplanes and subway cars because their seats are suddenly too small. But coffins too small? It makes sense, but I'd never thought of it before.
The story gives an example of a 696-pound man who died at age 52 of heart failure and the trouble his family had to go to to find a coffin and cemetery plot large enough for him.
As I said, fascinating, in a horrifying kind of way. And this at a time when much of the world still goes hungry. Is it any wonder the West is viewed with such a mixture of hatred and envy? What are we coming to?
Posted by wetcoast at September 29, 2003 09:48 AM