Adult Diapers

The are many signs of a changing America.  We have Obama Care, the friendly debates that surround it, and the fun people are having with the website.  We have an economy that is sluggishly improving from the great recession.  The Atlanta Braves are planning to build their third stadium since they have been in Atlanta.  There are so many things changing.  Some change is for the better while other changes make us nostalgic for a simpler past.  

There is, of course, the fattening of the country.  Obesity is such a problem that the AMA has recently classified the condition as a disease.  Along with this disease comes in the way we dress and shop.  There are more stores that carry plus sizes for women and big and tall for men… emphasis on the big.  The diet industry is a growing as fast or faster than our collective waistlines.

Lately, I have noticed another kind of change.  There has been a lot of commercials for, well, adult diapers.  I was kind of surprised when I first saw that ads.  The models were definitely on the larger size and were talking about, well, seepage and the confidence that wearing whatever the incontinence product was.  OK then.  

I understand that people who have this problem need such products. The commercials, however, gave the impression that they were targeting weight related incontinence.  I just thought the incidence rate was on the smaller side.  It seems I was wrong.  The incidence rate must have increased to the point where it makes sense to advertise nationally.  Per DiaperBuys.com staff, the top ten adult diaper brands in the US are are (most of which I am blissfully unaware of):

1. Attends
2. Tranquility
3. Prevail
4. Attend
5. Tena
6. Wings
7. PER-FIT
8. Dignity
9. Select
10. Maxi Care

In my internet search, the growth in the adult diaper market is more due to the aging population as opposed to the impression the advertising was given.  The ads I have been seen seem to be targeted at the obese as opposed to the aging.  The folks in these ads are active, up, and about.  They are worried about seepage and leakage or so I got the impression from the ads.  The diapers are available in stores.   Mail order programs seem very popular as well.  Perhaps this is to avoid having to walk through the store with such products as much as it is for convenience for those that are not active, up, and about.

The growth in adult diapers is not just in the US.  It is a global phenomena.  It is predicted that in that adult diapers will outsell baby diapers in Japan by the year 2020.  In 2005, it was estimated that there were 316 million people in the world over 70 years in age.  The same study predicted that that population segment would grow by 78% by 2025 to 563 million.  The growth in babies is only expected to be 2.9%.  It is expected that the adult incontinence market will triple in this time.  It therefore makes sense that more product development and marketing dollars will be allocated to the adult than the baby market.

As a final note, with the increased use of adult diapers, there has been an increase in cases of adult diaper rash.  Really?