Lifts in the UK and Europe are no longer adequate for the growing size of the population, according to research presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Istanbul. The study, which analysed weight limits of 112 lifts manufactured between 1972 and 2024, found that maximum capacity has not increased since around 2004, despite rising average adult weights.
Lead author Professor Nick Finer compared the average maximum weight allowance per passenger with average adult weight in the year of manufacture. In the mid-1970s, the average British man weighed 75kg and woman 65kg; today those figures are 86kg and 73kg respectively. Lift allowances rose from about 62kg per person in 1972 to 75kg in 2002, but have since stagnated, leaving most lifts assuming an average passenger weight 4kg lighter than the current average adult.
Professor Finer noted that manufacturers shifted focus to floor space rather than weight, but based designs on an oval body shape, failing to account for increasing obesity. “They have completely failed to recognise that if obesity is increasing then so is the amount of room you take up,” he said.
The study raises safety concerns, as lifts may cut out if total weight limits are exceeded, and capacity is reduced. Finer also highlighted stigma: “Perhaps even more important than that is the stigma that [people with obesity] may experience on entering lifts – a form of everyday weight discrimination.” He called for “super-sizing” of many facilities to ensure inclusion.
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.” Nutritionist Louise Payne added that public spaces must be designed with larger bodies in mind, stressing dignity and accessibility.
