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| | | Super-size problem - Americans' struggle with obesity takes breathtaking toll
By JOHN FAUBER and MARK JOHNSON
From crib to casket, Wisconsin is showing its weight:
At Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, an obese 6-year-old girl walked in last year with Type 2 diabetes, a weight-induced ailment once seldom seen before patients reached middle age. In just seven years, the hospital has experienced a 15-fold increase in children with the disease.
In a special pediatric program at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics in Madison, recent patients have included a 100-pound 3-year-old girl and a 417-pound 15-year-old boy. Some children had to be weighed on a loading dock scale.
In a Milwaukee hospital in May, 285-pound Charles Hayes stooped to kiss his 248-pound wife, Jodi, 33, before she was wheeled away for stomach-shrinking surgery, a once rare treatment that's becoming commonplace. Two hours later, it was his turn. | Casual Male XL Launches Catalogue Blitz - Revamped Retailer Steps Into Niche For Plus-Size Items - By Mark Jewell - Associated Press - Saturday, August 25, 2007; F13
BOSTON -- At first glance, the catalogue's pitch for lawn chairs appears ordinary: A seated man and woman relax near a tree-lined lake shore, enjoying a drink.
But look closer. "Supports up to 800 lbs," says the text next to the man's $139.95 lawn chair.
Flip deeper into the catalogue, and the products are similarly specialized, including a "Big John" toilet seat with a 1,200-pound capacity, "larger than any other toilet seat in the world." It's priced at $124.95.
The products are in LivingXL, an online and print catalogue launched in May by the parent company of Casual Male XL, the nation's largest chain of men's plus-size clothing and apparel stores. Casual Male Retail Group hopes to parlay the marketing know-how from its 500 stores into the largely untapped market for specialty products that make life easier for the growing population of obese men and women. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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