Obesity How we are Starting to adapt to a larger world

With a new study predicting that by 2050 more than half of adults and a third of children and young people worldwide will be overweight or obese, a swathe of industries are having to adapt to accommodate our larger bodies.

- Jessica Murray

From hospitals to transport, stadiums to crematoriums, here are some of the adjustments being made.

Sports stadiums At the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, organisers said 1,675 seats had been reserved for people with obesity or with disabilities - the first time tickets for people with obesity were offered at an event organised by international football's governing body, Fifa.

To qualify for a ticket, people were required to submit a medical certificate saying they had a body mass index of 30 or more.

Seats for larger football fans are now standard practice at matches, with Fifa's stadium guidelines stating that "easy access extra-width seating" for larger adults or those with limited mobility should be provided.

These should be as wide as two standard general admission seats and be able to support a weight of 250kg (39st 5lb).

Hospitals and ambulances Over the past decade, ambulance services have invested heavily in bariatric ambulances, designed and equipped to deal with patients over 158kg (25st), in response to a rise in obesity-related hospital visits. These usually have double-width trolley stretchers, heavy-duty wheelchairs and reinforced tail-lifts. Other vehicles have been fitted with lifts, hoists and larger stretchers to help transport bigger patients.