According to the Cremation Association of North America, 17 percent of those who choose cremation do so for environmental reasons, though it found that the main reason is cost.

In 1965, less than 4 percent of the people who died in the United States were cremated, according to the Cremation Association of North America.

According to a 1995 survey by the Cremation Association of North America, 40 percent of respondents said they would choose cremation for their remains.

It accounted for 16.5 percent of the disposition of estimated deaths in 1988, up from 7 percent in 1975, according to the Cremation Association of North America.

The Cremation Association of North America has begun providing special training to its members in the handling of obese bodies.

Jack Springer, the executive director of the Cremation Association of North America, said most crematoria cannot handle bodies over 500 pounds.

The Cremation Association of North America prefers that the word "cremains" not be used for referring to "human cremated remains."

According to the Cremation Association of North America, the number and percentage of cremations is increasing, and the association projects that the national average could be over 55 percent by 2025.

The numbers are steadily rising, with the Cremation Association of North America forecasting a cremation rate of 51.12 percent - more than half America's deaths - by 2025.

About 32 percent of people chose cremation in 2005, compared with 17 percent in 1990, according to the Cremation Association of North America.