A Toowoomba Hospital staff member sits on an extra-wide seat designed to cater for obese patients.

Welcome to the Australian hospital where nine in 10 patients are overweight or obese. The operating tables can hold up to 400 kilograms, the wheelchairs are approved for 200 kilograms and extra-wide chairs are installed in consulting rooms.

“Normal isn’t normal for us,” said Dr Jamie Beit, the hospital’s director of anaesthesia.

Today, we are in Toowoomba Hospital, west of Brisbane. But this scenario could be coming to a hospital near you.

Since 1995, rates of obesity in Australia have increased by almost 50 per cent – to close to 28 per cent of the population.