BIG-BOTTOMED Australians who have become too heavy for regular toilet seats are fuelling demand for a new US import: super-sized loos.  Big John toilet seats, which can carry as much as 500kg, are designed for those who find standard sizes "too small and too flimsy".Their arrival comes amid reports of people being injured by toilet seats that have cracked under their weight. The Big John, which can be bolted to a normal toilet bowl, has an ultra-wide surface and stabilising bumpers. 

Waistlines are exploding, with more than half of adults now classified as overweight or obese. This trend means the average toilet user today is much bigger than when the seat was designed 100 years ago. Big John Asia Pacific manager told The Sunday Telegraph the $190 seats were proving popular in the health and hospitality sectors.

"People sometimes can't get up from the toilet because they have had their circulation cut off, the way the (big) seat is formed allows blood flow through the legs."  The seats were also aimed at very tall people, the disabled and athletes, Mr Lammer said. Dr Michael Booth, an obesity expert at Sydney University, said there were many situations where seating was a concern for larger people.