As obesity increases, so does challenge to EMS Sunday, March 21, 2010
By Michael A. Fuoco, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

As recently as two decades ago, ambulance service crews rarely encountered patients who were overweight or obese.

These days, it's not unusual for paramedics, both here and nationally, to transport patients who weigh 300 or 400 pounds -- sometimes even in the 600- to 700-pound range. Or more.

That's because obesity rates for Americans have more than doubled since 1976. As the waistlines of Americans have grown, so too have the challenges for EMS personnel in cost, personnel, equipment, training, safety and transport protocol.

In the United States, 34 percent of adults and 17 percent of children were obese, while more than two-thirds of adults and almost one-third of children were overweight in 2007-2008, according to findings released in January by the Centers for Disease Control. Height and weight calculations determine who is considered to be overweight or obese.