One American carmaker has broken ground by making room for bigger drivers. Ford Motor Company announced recently it is making its computer models fatter to accommodate America's expanded waistline.

According to CNN, Ford has developed nine virtual mannequins for its cyber model 2007. The report by the cable news channel says the mannequins are chunkier so engineers can ergonomically allow for a bigger belly and wider hips when they are designing cars.

The company recognized it is harder to sit in a car if the steering wheel feels too tight, the seat seems a little too narrow and there is not enough room for the legs.

An article in The Ergonomics Report™ in July 2002 anticipated the development. A subscriber publication designed for readers with a professional interest in ergonomics, it outlined the practical ramifications of the obesity trend for designers and talked about techniques they would have to use to accommodate it. Called multivariate anthropometry methods, they provide a methodology through which the most important dimensions for a specific product are selected. They are based on the intended user population, the tasks those users will be expected to perform, and environment of use.

Interviewed for the ergonomics publication article, researcher Kathleen Robinette of the United States Air Force Research Laboratory explained that obesity has been a concern for designers for several decades. “The historic data indicate we were getting taller until about the mid-1970s,” says Robinette. “Now we don’t seem to be getting taller, but we do seem to be getting fatter.”

Ford’s decision raises an issue many industries have had to tackle: who should they design for? The company has decided their intended user population has a bigger than ever waistline, and a business or policy decision to design for bigger girths has followed.

Sources: CNN; The Ergonomics Report™