It is no secret that obesity is a growing epidemic in the United States, but is this really causing a “boom” in the funeral industry? According to the following article and video from Fox News in Austin, Texas, obesity is changing many things about funeral industry and the death process. Obesity is affecting not only the funeral directors, but also the cemetery people, crematories, and even the pallbearers.
It is no surprise Americans are getting bigger. According to the centers for disease control, close to one in three people are obese in Texas. That number has been increasing since the mid 90’s. Bariatric surgeon Dr. Sashidhar Ganta says obesity can bring on dangerous complications. “Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, heart disease, some type of cancers, joint problems, acid reflux,” says Dr. Ganta. He works with dozens of patients who wish to reverse many of those effects. Unfortunately for some, it may be too late.
Watch the video below.
“CDC reports that every year about 300,000 obese individuals die from causes directly related to obesity,” says Dr. Ganta.
That alarming number is leading to a boom in another industry. The demand for oversized caskets has been on the rise for the last 10 to 15 years. “While they look identical, this one is eight inches wider,” says Laurens Fish, Co-Owner of Weed-Corley Fish Funeral Homes. He says what was once the rule, a casket 24 inches wide, is now usually the exception. “We’re needing to use caskets that are larger where you didn’t have to in the past,” says Fish.
Source: Fox News (Austin Texas)
