Plus-Sized Casket Business Booming

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.

"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.

The average now he says is 32 inches. Casket manufacturers make them in 40 inches, some up to 52 inches. It is not only the coffin that may cost from $1,500 to $3,000 more than its smaller counterpart. Generally larger accommodations also come with an added cost.

"It's difficult. In most cases we're meeting with a family on the worst day of their life and to then have to discuss other issues, and costs is a big one, and we want to be upfront and honest with each family we meet," says Fish.

A 52 inch coffin would require extra equipment to carry the body since an average hearse is only 42-inches wide. Add to that the associated safety risks and extra steps that are required for the cremation of an obese person.

"Loading into the crematory itself is one because of the weight of the individual. The other danger being the sheer size and how the temperature reacts to that individual's cremation process," Fish admits.

The increase in obese-related deaths is also forcing the funeral industry to make some changes. Fish's new funeral home in Lakeway was built with larger coffins in mind. Every entrance has double doors that lead to more open floor plans.

"A slightly oversize casket is not going to go through that door so that inherently creates more problems for a funeral home and how do you maneuver that casket around," Fish says.

The effect also trickles down to the cemetery costs since a larger grave may have to be dug.  Paul Zielinski is the director at assumption cemetery in south Austin. He says a larger coffin will require a larger container and grave.

"The expense for the vault is quite a bit more than it would be for a regular sized concrete liner," said Zielinski. Add to that the extra room which can range from $200-$400, and that is if two graves are not required.

"What we try to do is find a spot that's on the end of a row so that we don't actually have to sell two graves to a family.

We can charge them more for a bit extra space," Zielinski says.

Zielinski says due to larger grave space the cemetery is opening up a new section to accommodate those. He also says it would not be unheard of to see a crane lower an oversized coffin into a grave.

A funeral service for a larger person can cost anywhere from one and half to twice the amount of a funeral for an average-sized person.