Slenderized - A Dieter’s Journey

While looking for some information for my last entry about oversized travelers, I came across a older blog entry about charging larger flyers an additional fee and I’m inclined to agree with such a policy.

After reading some of the comments on the entry, I developed some mixed feelings, but I eventually came to a conclusion of my own:

…I agree with others who say that a majority of obese people are simply making excuses for their unwise eating/exercise decisions.

I’m overweight, so I’m also casting stones at myself. Although I can’t be classified as obese, I know that I made my own bed and I must lie in it. People say that’s the first step to recovery and I wish more overweight people would understand that.

The reason why “every diet under the sun” doesn’t work is because many people refuse to stick with it. It’s much easier (and tastier) to grab a burger and fries than to choose to consistently eat a healthy low carb diet of “bunny food” and water.

Plus, some people don’t understand that in order to lose weight, serious lifestyle changes need to be made; proper diet, proper exercise, and proper choices. Gaining weight likely took years and it won’t come off overnight.

Frankly, if I ever get so large that I inconvenience other travelers because my girth spills into their seats, *I want to be charged the extra fare* because I would technically be taking up 1.5 - 2 seats*.

My statement is not meant to hurt anyone’s feelings. If there is a legitimate medical reason for the weight, then I’m all for making concessions. It’s not about malicious discrimination at all, just fairness.

When I think about the obese people who make poor decisions and then want a free ride from tax payers and other citizens, I think of someone intentionally breaking their own leg just so they can park in a disabled parking spot. It’s just not right.

“Seats need to be made bigger. People are bigger than they were in 1950. I can understand charging a 500 or 600 pound person for an extra seat or part of an extra seat but a 300 pound person isn’t that big and certainly isn’t that unusual and seats should be large enough to accommodate such a person.”

Er…yes, people are larger than they were in 1950, but your logic is skewed.

As we get larger as a society, we still remain in proportion to our height — it’s basic biology.

To say a “300 pound person isn’t that big” is flawed. If the person is 6′2″ or contains a high amount of muscle mass, 300 pounds may not that big; but, when a person is only 5′6″ with a low amount of muscle mass, that person is that big.

As for your statement that airlines should just make the seats larger, I’m inclined to agree with you from a traveler’s perspective, but from a business-minded perspective, they already have larger seats available — it’s called first class.

-Slim

* My statement isn’t just limited to obese persons — it includes anyone who is larger than the national average, including body-builders who overextend their seats.

Harsh? Probably. But, I am looking at it from both perspectives: someone who has been teased because of weight problems and someone who has been inconvenienced by a larger traveler encroaching on the seat I paid good money for.

Make no mistakes about it, the airline carriers definitely need to make their policies a lot more clear when it concerns larger travelers and it should be a combination of both weight and width.

Why do I say “weight and width”? Airlines measure and limit the weight of your luggage for a reason — it affects many variables with the aircraft, to include how much fuel it will use to get from Point A to Point B; the same is true of its passengers. The FAA and airlines use a basic weight average for individuals before making its fuel allowances. Width is simple, if a person is wider than the seat, they should pay for the extra seat — it’s only fair.

And both of these figures should be clearly listed somewhere such as the airline’s website and at the airport so travelers can make their final flight decisions in the privacy of their own homes without needing to be embarrassed at the airport or inconvenience any other passengers.

Filed under: Personal Ramblings