Lifts are no longer adequate for the UK's increasingly larger population, according to a new study presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Istanbul, Turkey. The research examined weight limit signs from 112 lifts manufactured between 1972 and 2024 across the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria, and Finland.
Flawed Calculations in Lift Design
Lead author Prof Nick Finer, president of the International Prader-Willi Syndrome Organisation, compared the average maximum weight allowance per person with the average adult weight at the time of manufacture. The findings show that while adult weights have continued to rise, total lift capacity has stagnated since around 2004. In the mid-1970s, the average British man weighed 75kg and woman 65kg; today, those figures have increased to 86kg and 73kg respectively.
Maximum allowances per person rose from about 62kg in 1972 to 75kg in 2002, broadly matching weight increases during that period. However, most manufacturers have since assumed an average weight of 75kg, which is 4kg less than the current average adult weight.
Safety and Stigma Concerns
Prof Finer noted that lift designs are based on outmoded assumptions about passenger size. "What seems to have happened is a shift to manufacturers calculating the amount of room you take up on the floor rather than weight," he said. "But they assume the shape of a person is an oval rather than a circle. They have completely failed to recognise that if obesity is increasing, so is the amount of room you take up."
This miscalculation poses potential safety risks. "The ability to transport people up floors in a speedy time is impacted if you can only get half the number of people in the lift that you designed them for," Finer explained. Lifts may cut out if passengers exceed total weight limits. Beyond safety, he highlighted the stigma faced by people with obesity when entering lifts, describing it as "a form of everyday weight discrimination."
Finer called for a societal shift: "We need, sadly, to super-size many of the things in life to be suitable and safe for people living with obesity, as otherwise they would be excluded from society."
Expert Reactions
Jane DeVille-Almond, president of the British Obesity Society, responded: "We need to accept that society is unlikely to revert to sizes from 50 years ago, and start developing facilities for the 21st century."
Registered nutritionist Louise Payne added: "It's clear public spaces aren't always designed with larger bodies in mind. This is not simply an issue of comfort, it's about dignity, accessibility, and inclusion. Nobody should feel embarrassed, unsafe, or excluded when using public transport or accessing everyday services."
