Power Wheelchairs and Obesity ? is Your Chair Strong Enough?
America is getting fat. There is no way around it. The National Center for Health Statistics has been studying obesity in the United States for the past 40 years and their latest studies show that over 63% of all Americans are overweight. And 47% of those overweight Americans are termed clinically obese. With statistics like these it is no wonder that there has been increased demand for power wheelchairs that can support larger weights and individuals.
Most people don’t know it, but the average power wheelchair is only designed to hold someone who weighs a maximum of 250-300 pounds. There are over 3.8 million Americans who weigh more than that and growing. The majority of those weighing 300+ pounds need or will need a power wheelchair, which is no easy task when standard power wheelchairs are not up to the task.
When looking for a power wheelchair that can support someone who is overweight consumers need to look for the term “heavy duty” in the model or description. Heavy duty power wheelchairs can hold overweight or large individuals up to 500 pounds. The bad news is that heavy duty models cost more than standard models. The price increases quite a bit, especially if the standard heavy duty models are not enough.
Heavy duty power wheelchair’s need to have all of the same design characteristics of a standard power chair, but everything needs to be reinforced. The frame, axe, suspension, wheels, engine and battery all need to be strengthened. It is important that obese consumers only work with high quality power wheelchair manufacturers as a low-end product will either not be strong enough or will fail very quickly. The most common failure in heavy duty power wheelchairs is the motor. The motor in heavy duty power wheelchairs operates under so much more strain due to the added weight of the individual and the stronger wheelchair that it fails much more often than standard chairs.
One of the #1 choices for heavy duty power wheelchair users is the Jazzy line. Jazzy has two heavy duty options – the Jazzy 614HD for individuals up to 450 pounds and the Jazzy 1170 XL Plus Power for individuals up to 500 pounds. The Jazzy line is manufacturer by Pride Mobility which has seven separate wheelchair lines, so that they can provide a wheelchair tailored to each user’s needs. The alternative choice is Invacare’s Pronto M94 which is rated for up to 500 pounds as well. Invacare has been making medical products since 1885 and has an impeccable reputation within the mobility industry.
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Lauren Hill has over 20 years experience in the medical consumer industry. She is now the PR Director of WheelchairForMe.com. Lauren is sharing her knowledge about power wheelchairs with great articles, blog posts and a heavy visited Twitter account.
To learn more about some of the products discussed in this article please contact a WheelchairForMe.com Mobility Specialist by filling out this prequalification form or calling 877-359-2922.
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Drive Medical Bellavita Auto Bath Lifter, White
- Completely tool free set up makes it easy to install and operate
- The completely water tight hand control floats, making it easy to access the control buttons while bathing
- Excellent for deeper model tubs
- Two piece construction makes the lift easy to assemble/disassemble for transport
The lightest bath lift on the market at only 20. 5 lbs. At 2. 3″ the Bellavita is the lowest bath lift available. Seat height reaches a record 18. 8″. Excellent for deeper model tubs. The backrest reclines to a market leading 50 degrees at its lowest position. Completely tool free set up makes it easy to install and operate. The completely water tight hand control floats, making it easy to access the control buttons while bathing. The easy to use quick charge lithium-ion battery is accommodated
List Price: $ 2,197.00
Price:
Question by sweiland75: Does the TDX SP power wheelchair travel in temperatures below zero degrees Celsius?
I would like to know whether or not I should be concerned about driving in winter and the chair stalling.
Best answer:
Answer by S P
That is something to ask your wheelchair company or the maker of the chair.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
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This was a life saver,
I bought this for my mom. With arthritis all over her body taking a bath is like climbing Mount Everest somedays. I assumed by now that contraptions like this had to exist but once I did my homework I didn’t know where to buy it. Again, it hit me: “I bet Amazon has it” and sure enough there is was. It isn’t that hard to set up although like all instruction manuals it wasn’t detailed like I would have liked. It comes with 4 suction cups to anchor it in the tub. They will stick on a good, clean surface but you have to put a lot of pressure. It kept slipping until I decided to get in the tub and stand on each corner as best as I could. That worked. The top/back of the lift slips in horizontally into it’s groves. Make sure the hand control is charged for 4 hours before this. Once the top is in place lift it up vertically and a little to the back. Plug in the hand control on the back and hit the yellow triangle. This starts the center poll/lifting thingy to start moving. The little T bar MUST slip in the area just behind the red clip. It will catch and when that does catch the seat will begin to lift. Although she has trouble lifting her legs over the edge of the tub once she’s in she sits and making sure she’s on it as balanced as possible I lower her in the tub using the blue triangle. If you have an old tub like she does take into consideration that you may lose 4 or more inches in length in the tub once inside it. The suction cups have to be as flat as possible to hold well. The curved/sloped area could make it difficult to hold. I get it back as far as I can and she’s ok but not completely comfortable. If you are tall I hope you have a long tub. Still, it’s been a life saver all around. I was fearing that she would have to go into a nursing home if I couldn’t handle this on my own. Her mind is as sharp as ever and this lift kept her from vegetating in a home. I can’t thank you enough.
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|so so lift chair with no customer support,
This lift chair was going to be a hopeful tool for a hip patient and does the job but leaves more than a little concern. There is absolutely no customer support from Drive Medical. We sent a few emails to them about problems with the charger and the fact that the displayed unit on amazon with the blue cushion is inaccurate and that the unit comes with a white cushion. It does lift a 180 pound person but makes clunking noises and will likely last for a shorter time than expected. We also filled out a questionaire from amazon on this unit and heard nothing from that either. We buy a ton of stuff from amazon but in the future will buy nothing from amazon sold by others. If you want customer support this is not your lift chair.
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|Bellavita bath-tub lift chair does the job!,
This is a perfect product for those whose legs have become too weak to stand up after bathing is done. It works exactly as described (perfectly)and is easy to keep clean even when leaving in the tub between baths. The battery unit is easy to recharge and its enclosure is waterproof. I had previously considered buying a walkin tub ($10,000 – $17,000 installed) and am glad I bought this chair instead as it permits many seating heights whereas the walk-ins have a fixed height seat. All in all, a perfect solution for those with old and/or weak legs, hips, or backs. I would buy it again without hesitation.
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