As the average weight of the British population increases, the needs of large, overweight and obese people are often overlooked by businesses when choosing appropriate office chairs for their staff.

Yet the consequences of sitting in an office chair which is too small can be, at best, discomfort and at worst, postural problems and serious Health and Safety issues. The result is often reduced performance on the part of the employee.

The solution is to invest in well made office chairs which are designed specifically for the needs of the large and overweight and are well proportioned enough to accommodate extra large people.

Extra large and overweight people often use their chairs differently to lighter users – for example, pushing up from the chair from the armrests when rising and sitting into the chair more heavily. This often results in damage to seating not designed for the purpose not to mention potential embarrassment to the employee. The shape of larger bodies is also different and this must also be accommodated in an office chair suited to the task. As with well designed office chairs the user must be given adequate support by the chair to reduce the risk of postural discomfort and possible back problems.

The design and components of the ergonomic chairs in our Max Range recognise these requirements in a number of ways and all chairs have:

• Generously proportioned seats and backs;
• Heavy duty mechanisms or heavy gauge tubular metal cantilever frame;
• Strengthened armrests and sometimes width adjustable armrests;
• Extra strong bases and, in some cases, 6 star bases;
• Seat slides to allow the seat to be positioned to support the legs of the person using the chair.

All chairs in the range are given a maximum guide weight and there are chairs to support large people from 19 stone up to 30 and 32 stone in weight.

Heavy duty chairs, designed specifically for the overweight or obese user, are slightly more expensive than standard operator or executive chairs because of their stronger build quality and heavy duty parts, but they more than justify themselves by offering the following benefits to your business:

• The chairs are robust and fit for purpose reducing the need to continually replace broken standard build chairs more regularly and therefore representing a long-term cost saving;
• The user is more comfortable and thus able to work more productively and efficiently;
• Health and Safety requirements for your staff are met
• The chair is supporting correct posture, reducing the likelihood of expensive sick leave as a result of postural problems, bad backs, etc