I have seen ‘fat’ people use them... But some elderly who need assistance in walking also use them. I do not have a memory of helping a fat person reach items on the top shelves. Back in the late 90’s I tore a gastrocnemius muscle, I was in a cast for couple of months +, and I used one, one time... no way I could push a cart and walk with crutches.
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My mother, who passed away on Dec. 18th. 20015, always refused to use electric carts, although she was stricken with arthritis. She used a regular cart and leaned on it for support. She said she didn’t want people to think she was lazy. Mom was 95 years old.
The large majority of people I see using electric carts are morbidly obese, of course they fit the definition of “handicapped”, being 5’6” tall and weighing 300-500 pounds is for certain a “handicap”.
Once I took mom to the grocery store and she didn’t feel like walking, I pushed her in her, “just in case she needed it wheel chair” and she pushed a cart. We looked like a train going down the aisle. Good thing the store wasn’t busy.