Yo' X-Ray So Fat...
July 27, 2006 8:14 PM Subscribe
Newsfilter: According to a new research from the United States, increasing numbers of Americans are becoming too fat to fit into X-ray machines. Whoa. Heavy...
Super Size my scanner!
Maybe we need to make new hospitals specifically for fat people?
Or maybe not make so many fat people.
posted by fenriq at 8:17 PM on July 27, 2006
Maybe we need to make new hospitals specifically for fat people?
Or maybe not make so many fat people.
posted by fenriq at 8:17 PM on July 27, 2006
right, let's go.
stop fucking eating
start fucking exercising.
there, i said it. what do i win?
posted by Frasermoo at 8:24 PM on July 27, 2006
stop fucking eating
start fucking exercising.
there, i said it. what do i win?
posted by Frasermoo at 8:24 PM on July 27, 2006
9/11, Ann Coulter, furrys, and fat people! Good posts today.
posted by bob sarabia at 8:26 PM on July 27, 2006
posted by bob sarabia at 8:26 PM on July 27, 2006
This does not surprise me in the least. Go look at the people in any Walmart parking lot - the lower and lower middle classes in America have completely fallen victim to an addiction to fried food and corn syrup. Desire for pleasurable food -> fatness -> poor self image -> desire for pleasurable food -> . . . and so on. It's a vicious cycle that churns out the morbidly obese like a factory.
Nothing short of regulation on massive scale will fix this, and any politician who dared to propose such would be quickly removed by the very people they are trying to help.
I'm not really sure there's a short or long-term solution to this problem other than better nutrition education in schools.
posted by Ryvar at 8:27 PM on July 27, 2006
Nothing short of regulation on massive scale will fix this, and any politician who dared to propose such would be quickly removed by the very people they are trying to help.
I'm not really sure there's a short or long-term solution to this problem other than better nutrition education in schools.
posted by Ryvar at 8:27 PM on July 27, 2006
Nothing short of regulation on massive scale will fix this
and how would one impose this?
posted by brandz at 8:31 PM on July 27, 2006
and how would one impose this?
posted by brandz at 8:31 PM on July 27, 2006
Proper food labelling goes an amazing distance. Ever since tesco started putting a nutrition panel right on the front of their food in large type my buying habits have changed hugely.
As they will when you see your "pasta salad" has 60% of your RDA fat and 55% of your RDA calories.
posted by bonaldi at 8:36 PM on July 27, 2006
As they will when you see your "pasta salad" has 60% of your RDA fat and 55% of your RDA calories.
posted by bonaldi at 8:36 PM on July 27, 2006
and how would one impose this?
Watch how fast you eat, citizen. You'll get the hiccups.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 8:37 PM on July 27, 2006
Watch how fast you eat, citizen. You'll get the hiccups.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 8:37 PM on July 27, 2006
Ryvar, it goes beyond that, you have to give into the nanny state.
support the government in imposing maximum salt levels, maximum saturated fat levels etc.. in cheap foods. in fact, get the laws in that ban shit food... i smoke. i welcome someone with the guts to say 'Hey, this f*cking kills people, we aint selling cigarettes no more' that would settle my hash.
a burger is as addictive as a cigarette for some.
posted by Frasermoo at 8:40 PM on July 27, 2006
support the government in imposing maximum salt levels, maximum saturated fat levels etc.. in cheap foods. in fact, get the laws in that ban shit food... i smoke. i welcome someone with the guts to say 'Hey, this f*cking kills people, we aint selling cigarettes no more' that would settle my hash.
a burger is as addictive as a cigarette for some.
posted by Frasermoo at 8:40 PM on July 27, 2006
Also, in more and more cases: too fat for the x-rays to get all the way through their flab to register accurately.
I wonder — in addition to 'fat scans' —if it's become increasingly a problem as well for people doing 'cat scans.'
posted by LeLiLo at 8:42 PM on July 27, 2006
I wonder — in addition to 'fat scans' —if it's become increasingly a problem as well for people doing 'cat scans.'
posted by LeLiLo at 8:42 PM on July 27, 2006
a burger is as addictive as a cigarette for some
as is alcohol or sex or gambling or exercise, to name but a few...
posted by brandz at 8:44 PM on July 27, 2006
as is alcohol or sex or gambling or exercise, to name but a few...
posted by brandz at 8:44 PM on July 27, 2006
Unfortunately, nutritional labels only tell you what companies get away with telling you. In the U.S. it seems the FDA merely checks for the presence of the "Nutrition Facts" label, not its accuracy...
posted by ObeyScient at 8:48 PM on July 27, 2006
posted by ObeyScient at 8:48 PM on July 27, 2006
As far as I know, Illinois is the only state that mandates that public school students engage in some sort of phys-ed, one scholastic hour, every day of school. Be it recess twice a day for K-8 or gym every day during high school. I'm surprised still by people I meet from other states who didn't have gym every day.
In my experience growing up in Illinois, working out as a kid every day, in the middle of the school day was normal. Taking another shower every day right before lunch was normal. As a guy who didn't grow up with brothers it was awkward at first, but I got used to it, and looked forward to a little soccer, tennis, or running in the middle of the day, and it was awesome.
I find it odd that more states don't mandate that kids have to get out and run their little butts around for at least an hour on school time, and maybe learn a little stretching or isometric exercise in the process. Things that can make you healthier and stronger without the expense of a gym. C'mon kids, let's do some pushups!
posted by MarvinTheCat at 8:48 PM on July 27, 2006
In my experience growing up in Illinois, working out as a kid every day, in the middle of the school day was normal. Taking another shower every day right before lunch was normal. As a guy who didn't grow up with brothers it was awkward at first, but I got used to it, and looked forward to a little soccer, tennis, or running in the middle of the day, and it was awesome.
I find it odd that more states don't mandate that kids have to get out and run their little butts around for at least an hour on school time, and maybe learn a little stretching or isometric exercise in the process. Things that can make you healthier and stronger without the expense of a gym. C'mon kids, let's do some pushups!
posted by MarvinTheCat at 8:48 PM on July 27, 2006
Received Pronunciation
"Researchers have indicated that Americans are a vulgar, fuck-witted race of Bush-voting, Jesus-shouting imbeciles, each and every one of them implacably hostile to learning and civilization, who barbecue Arab babies for fun, and whose barbaric yowlings make the average glue-sniffing chav seem like Noel Coward."
"And in related news, now they're too goddamned fucking fat to fit in the x-ray machines. How typical!"
/Received Pronunciation
posted by jason's_planet at 8:54 PM on July 27, 2006 [5 favorites]
"Researchers have indicated that Americans are a vulgar, fuck-witted race of Bush-voting, Jesus-shouting imbeciles, each and every one of them implacably hostile to learning and civilization, who barbecue Arab babies for fun, and whose barbaric yowlings make the average glue-sniffing chav seem like Noel Coward."
"And in related news, now they're too goddamned fucking fat to fit in the x-ray machines. How typical!"
/Received Pronunciation
posted by jason's_planet at 8:54 PM on July 27, 2006 [5 favorites]
I always wonder why Darwin had to go all the way to the Galapagos to find inspiration.
posted by scheptech at 8:58 PM on July 27, 2006
posted by scheptech at 8:58 PM on July 27, 2006
who barbecue Arab babies for fun
I think you may be exaggerating here.
posted by everichon at 9:05 PM on July 27, 2006
I think you may be exaggerating here.
posted by everichon at 9:05 PM on July 27, 2006
This is not the full extent of the problem. My wife, a nurse anesthetist (and my sugar mama), has kept me up to date on the issues that morbidly obese patients raise for operating rooms.
In reponse to this [ahem] growing problem, surgical supply companies have developed "bariatric supplies" including double-wide, heavy duty operating room tables, heavy-duty (1000 lb. capacity) hospital beds, extra long instruments, and [ugh] extra long surgical gloves.
I can tell you that the call for "extra lifting help to OR 5" is frequently heard in the operating suite of my hospital. And I work in a children's hospital.
posted by scblackman at 9:48 PM on July 27, 2006
In reponse to this [ahem] growing problem, surgical supply companies have developed "bariatric supplies" including double-wide, heavy duty operating room tables, heavy-duty (1000 lb. capacity) hospital beds, extra long instruments, and [ugh] extra long surgical gloves.
I can tell you that the call for "extra lifting help to OR 5" is frequently heard in the operating suite of my hospital. And I work in a children's hospital.
posted by scblackman at 9:48 PM on July 27, 2006
who barbecue Arab babies for fun
I think you may be exaggerating here.
Yeah. Its not for fun. We're just hungry.
posted by c13 at 9:52 PM on July 27, 2006
I think you may be exaggerating here.
Yeah. Its not for fun. We're just hungry.
posted by c13 at 9:52 PM on July 27, 2006
Taxes on fatty foods. Proceeds to public school P.E. programs. Pull soda completely out of public schools, give them better food. More funding to poor kids for meals during the summer.
Step 1, though, America needs to realize that fatness can simultaneously be a national health crisis and not necessarily reprehensible on a personal level. We need to get over the idea that implementing policies to slim down the population is somehow bigotry against the overweight.
posted by gurple at 9:55 PM on July 27, 2006
Step 1, though, America needs to realize that fatness can simultaneously be a national health crisis and not necessarily reprehensible on a personal level. We need to get over the idea that implementing policies to slim down the population is somehow bigotry against the overweight.
posted by gurple at 9:55 PM on July 27, 2006
Hey, cut out this cultural bigotry right now. Oh wait, I thought someone was bashing the French. Nevermind. Carry on.
posted by fleacircus at 9:59 PM on July 27, 2006
posted by fleacircus at 9:59 PM on July 27, 2006
Nothing short of regulation on massive scale will fix this
and how would one impose this?
I purpose concentration camps.
posted by bob sarabia at 10:07 PM on July 27, 2006
and how would one impose this?
I purpose concentration camps.
posted by bob sarabia at 10:07 PM on July 27, 2006
I think this is one of the most salient situations in which the free and amoral market is utterly failing people.
That said, I wonder how calories per serving of various foodstuffs versus excessive/compulsive eating factor into the obesity problem.
posted by clockzero at 10:08 PM on July 27, 2006
That said, I wonder how calories per serving of various foodstuffs versus excessive/compulsive eating factor into the obesity problem.
posted by clockzero at 10:08 PM on July 27, 2006
I onced worked with a girl who had previously been a receptionist and appointment setter at a large radiology practice in town (Austin, Texas).
She told me the weight limit on their MRI machines was something like 400 pounds. If someone was heavier than that, they sent them to... get this... Sea World in San Antonio for their scans.
posted by beth at 10:40 PM on July 27, 2006 [1 favorite]
She told me the weight limit on their MRI machines was something like 400 pounds. If someone was heavier than that, they sent them to... get this... Sea World in San Antonio for their scans.
posted by beth at 10:40 PM on July 27, 2006 [1 favorite]
On a recent plane trip, I saw a woman who had to get an "extender" from the flight attendant so that she could buckle her seat belt. At that, she was in first class where the seats are bigger.
posted by Cranberry at 10:52 PM on July 27, 2006
posted by Cranberry at 10:52 PM on July 27, 2006
i read in the paper the other day that someone got their head bashed in with a rock
we should immediately have the government scour the landscape for any and all rocks so this doesn't happen again ... we could even draft fat people with sledgehammers ... no, people could get hurt with those ... plastic beach shovels to pound them into sand, thus killing two birds with one ... uh ... politically incorrect projectile
welcome to the bizarro world of metafilter where drugs should be legal and french fry pushers should be arrested ... where people who may well be insecure about their own health and self-image project narcisstically their self-loathing onto fat people ... or, if they're not that insecure, indulge their addiction to hypercontrol of themselves to the other people around them
posted by pyramid termite at 10:55 PM on July 27, 2006
we should immediately have the government scour the landscape for any and all rocks so this doesn't happen again ... we could even draft fat people with sledgehammers ... no, people could get hurt with those ... plastic beach shovels to pound them into sand, thus killing two birds with one ... uh ... politically incorrect projectile
welcome to the bizarro world of metafilter where drugs should be legal and french fry pushers should be arrested ... where people who may well be insecure about their own health and self-image project narcisstically their self-loathing onto fat people ... or, if they're not that insecure, indulge their addiction to hypercontrol of themselves to the other people around them
posted by pyramid termite at 10:55 PM on July 27, 2006
too busy fiddling....hey what's that burning over the horizon?!
posted by photoslob at 10:59 PM on July 27, 2006
posted by photoslob at 10:59 PM on July 27, 2006
I wonder if the amount of time Americans spend working has any bearing on our increasing average weight. I eat a lot more prepackaged convenience food than I want to, and it's largely because between school, work, and my other commitments, there aren't many hours left over for cooking and grocery shopping. For people with 60 hour a week jobs, long commutes, and families, keeping healthy must seem nigh on impossible.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 11:11 PM on July 27, 2006
welcome to the bizarro world of metafilter where drugs should be legal and french fry pushers should be arrested ...
Thank God! I thought you'd never let me in!
posted by lekvar at 11:23 PM on July 27, 2006
Thank God! I thought you'd never let me in!
posted by lekvar at 11:23 PM on July 27, 2006
We need to get over the idea that implementing policies to slim down the population is somehow bigotry against the overweight.
Isn't something like two thirds of the population obese at this point? How can there even be discrimination against an overwhelming majority?
posted by fshgrl at 11:36 PM on July 27, 2006
Isn't something like two thirds of the population obese at this point? How can there even be discrimination against an overwhelming majority?
posted by fshgrl at 11:36 PM on July 27, 2006
One quick way to knock a huge nutrional nightmare out would be to outlaw the use of High Fructose Corn Syrup altogether. That shit is poison and it is everywhere.
palmcorder, if people need to eat convenient and fast food then why not make it easier for them to get decent, healthy food?
The problem is that its easier to fill up on four $.99 cheeseburgers with enough fat for an entire week than it is to get people to eat good food (unless its drowned in Ranch dressing or other fatty goo).
posted by fenriq at 11:46 PM on July 27, 2006
palmcorder, if people need to eat convenient and fast food then why not make it easier for them to get decent, healthy food?
The problem is that its easier to fill up on four $.99 cheeseburgers with enough fat for an entire week than it is to get people to eat good food (unless its drowned in Ranch dressing or other fatty goo).
posted by fenriq at 11:46 PM on July 27, 2006
Yo' can kiss my big fat healthy ass! I've never had a problem getting x-rays. I had to get an MRI once and they just sent me to an open MRI place--it's also for people who are too claustrophobic.
The so-called obesity epidemic is supported by the vested interests of the 40 BBBBillion dollar weight loss industry.
You arrogant people pointing out the poor people in walmart are classist and racist, but hey, whatever makes you feel superior.
posted by blissing at 11:52 PM on July 27, 2006
The so-called obesity epidemic is supported by the vested interests of the 40 BBBBillion dollar weight loss industry.
You arrogant people pointing out the poor people in walmart are classist and racist, but hey, whatever makes you feel superior.
posted by blissing at 11:52 PM on July 27, 2006
Whatever, at the end of the day, after arguing with people on the internet, you're still fat.
posted by blasdelf at 12:39 AM on July 28, 2006 [3 favorites]
posted by blasdelf at 12:39 AM on July 28, 2006 [3 favorites]
a burger is as addictive as a cigarette for some
This is so true, and yet a person can't remove themselves from food, the way they can remove themselves from an environment that has drugs or alcohol, etc. A food addicted individual has no choice but to face food (in their personal environs) day in and day out for the rest of their lives. I cannot imagine being successful under those circumstances. It was hard enough for me to quit smoking, but at least I was able to keep smokes and smokers out of my personal space while doing it.
Btw, my boyfriend's mom recently was diagnosed with crohn's disease and due to the medication she's on we've seen her balloon to twice her weight! Whether some of you like it or not, some people are not fat because they can't put their food down.
posted by zarah at 1:42 AM on July 28, 2006
This is so true, and yet a person can't remove themselves from food, the way they can remove themselves from an environment that has drugs or alcohol, etc. A food addicted individual has no choice but to face food (in their personal environs) day in and day out for the rest of their lives. I cannot imagine being successful under those circumstances. It was hard enough for me to quit smoking, but at least I was able to keep smokes and smokers out of my personal space while doing it.
Btw, my boyfriend's mom recently was diagnosed with crohn's disease and due to the medication she's on we've seen her balloon to twice her weight! Whether some of you like it or not, some people are not fat because they can't put their food down.
posted by zarah at 1:42 AM on July 28, 2006
palmcorder_yajna, that's an interesting observation. Also, sleep disruption might cause weight gain, and I suspect many people are both sleeping less, and less regularly, than before.
I also suspect the continued spread of the car + mall culture: in more and more parts of America, there's just no point in walking anywhere. You live in a housing development with no sidewalks and you shop and work in strip malls with no sidewalks. You eliminate the occasional walk to the corner store or to a neighbor's, and you maybe eliminate the last ten minutes of exercise that some people ever got.
OTOH, the "obesity epidemic" is probably overstated. Any statistic based on height:weight ratio is pretty suspect. I've known people, for example, who were overweight, so they started eating better, exercising a lot, and so forth. They became fitter, trimmer, and healthier. They also became heavier, since muscle weighs more than fat, and since they became no taller, their height:weight ratio became worse... presto, they're obese!
posted by hattifattener at 2:20 AM on July 28, 2006
I also suspect the continued spread of the car + mall culture: in more and more parts of America, there's just no point in walking anywhere. You live in a housing development with no sidewalks and you shop and work in strip malls with no sidewalks. You eliminate the occasional walk to the corner store or to a neighbor's, and you maybe eliminate the last ten minutes of exercise that some people ever got.
OTOH, the "obesity epidemic" is probably overstated. Any statistic based on height:weight ratio is pretty suspect. I've known people, for example, who were overweight, so they started eating better, exercising a lot, and so forth. They became fitter, trimmer, and healthier. They also became heavier, since muscle weighs more than fat, and since they became no taller, their height:weight ratio became worse... presto, they're obese!
posted by hattifattener at 2:20 AM on July 28, 2006
Look...there is no reason the gubbament has to ban or control ANYTHING. Plenty of people live just fine without getting fat even with these foods around. Why should I not have access to delicious sugary snacks in moderation because a bunch of stupid fat lazy Americans have a problem with it? The solution is to stop putting down rubber mats in playgrounds and banning running during recess.
Repeat after me - it's not the food. It's the laziness that is now bred into children because we are too scared for them to be active during school, the years they spend that help shape their habits as adults - because it might cause a lawsuit.
To the person who said cigarettes should be banned - WHY - in public places yeah I can get that since the smoke doesn't affect just yourself but if they want to do what they want to themselves in their own home who the hell cares?
Screw the nanny state - do we need more intrustion into our lives? Hell I can't legally grow or have a plant that is a freaking weed because some slack jawed racist morons thought it was "bad".
All this moaning and groaing about fat fuckers comes repeatedly down to one simple concept: moderation and exercise.
Support the government in motivating kids to run and play, not regulation!!
posted by evilelvis at 2:28 AM on July 28, 2006
Repeat after me - it's not the food. It's the laziness that is now bred into children because we are too scared for them to be active during school, the years they spend that help shape their habits as adults - because it might cause a lawsuit.
To the person who said cigarettes should be banned - WHY - in public places yeah I can get that since the smoke doesn't affect just yourself but if they want to do what they want to themselves in their own home who the hell cares?
Screw the nanny state - do we need more intrustion into our lives? Hell I can't legally grow or have a plant that is a freaking weed because some slack jawed racist morons thought it was "bad".
All this moaning and groaing about fat fuckers comes repeatedly down to one simple concept: moderation and exercise.
Support the government in motivating kids to run and play, not regulation!!
posted by evilelvis at 2:28 AM on July 28, 2006
The "obesity epidemic"? It helps a little to find out who benefits from having "being really fat" classified as a disease unto itself.
And Johnson & Johnson has a huge stake in seeing obesity classified as a disease...One of its subsidiaries "markets lines of medical instruments for use in bariatric, or weight reduction, surgery for the morbidly obese...Two Johnson & Johnson's subsidiaries are "Sponsors" of the American Obesity Association (AOA). Funded primarily by pharmaceutical companies, the mission of the Washington, DC-based AOA is to push for "reimbursement for obesity treatment and prevention." Along the way, AOA hypes obesity fears at every opportunity.
More here.
posted by bunglin jones at 2:33 AM on July 28, 2006
And Johnson & Johnson has a huge stake in seeing obesity classified as a disease...One of its subsidiaries "markets lines of medical instruments for use in bariatric, or weight reduction, surgery for the morbidly obese...Two Johnson & Johnson's subsidiaries are "Sponsors" of the American Obesity Association (AOA). Funded primarily by pharmaceutical companies, the mission of the Washington, DC-based AOA is to push for "reimbursement for obesity treatment and prevention." Along the way, AOA hypes obesity fears at every opportunity.
More here.
posted by bunglin jones at 2:33 AM on July 28, 2006
increasing numbers of Americans are becoming too fat to fit into X-ray machines.
What happens at airports? If they're too fat to X-ray, does some poor asshole have to feel around in the folds of sweaty flab to be sure there's nothing hidden?
Be fat if you like, but you should be prepared to die young and to pay yourweighway in the meantime. For example, when you ship a package, you pay by the size and weight of the package, because that makes sense. When you ship yourself somewhere, it should be the same deal. Airline ticket prices should be adjusted by how much you weigh before boarding. Otherwise, healthy folk are forced to subsidize the burger gobblers and share half their seat with them.
posted by pracowity at 2:57 AM on July 28, 2006
What happens at airports? If they're too fat to X-ray, does some poor asshole have to feel around in the folds of sweaty flab to be sure there's nothing hidden?
Be fat if you like, but you should be prepared to die young and to pay your
posted by pracowity at 2:57 AM on July 28, 2006
Airline ticket prices should be adjusted by how much you weigh before boarding.
Agreed. I lived in Japan for a year, and while I was there I ate healthier, exercised consistently, and lost about forty pounds. But did the airlines let me increase my luggage allotment on the way home? Hell, no.
posted by Faint of Butt at 3:14 AM on July 28, 2006
Agreed. I lived in Japan for a year, and while I was there I ate healthier, exercised consistently, and lost about forty pounds. But did the airlines let me increase my luggage allotment on the way home? Hell, no.
posted by Faint of Butt at 3:14 AM on July 28, 2006
americans are the belly of the world. the sooner the dollar collapses, the better off we will be.
posted by eustatic at 3:50 AM on July 28, 2006
posted by eustatic at 3:50 AM on July 28, 2006
I don't care about other people being fat.
posted by Captaintripps at 4:32 AM on July 28, 2006
posted by Captaintripps at 4:32 AM on July 28, 2006
Airline ticket prices should be adjusted by how much you weigh before boarding.
That's a recipe for discrimination lawsuits, and not just from the obese. For example, I have a friend who is 6'8" and weighs almost 250 pounds. Should he be penalized for being tall?
All though, if it was staggered, it could be an excellent incentive to keep weight down for some people-- my weight floats ten pounds to either side of 200 pounds. If there was an increase at 200, it would be another reason to stay under 200.
posted by Mayor Curley at 5:12 AM on July 28, 2006
That's a recipe for discrimination lawsuits, and not just from the obese. For example, I have a friend who is 6'8" and weighs almost 250 pounds. Should he be penalized for being tall?
All though, if it was staggered, it could be an excellent incentive to keep weight down for some people-- my weight floats ten pounds to either side of 200 pounds. If there was an increase at 200, it would be another reason to stay under 200.
posted by Mayor Curley at 5:12 AM on July 28, 2006
If Americans want to be fat then let them.
If Americans don't want to be fat then help them.
posted by furtive at 5:16 AM on July 28, 2006 [1 favorite]
If Americans don't want to be fat then help them.
posted by furtive at 5:16 AM on July 28, 2006 [1 favorite]
She told me the weight limit on their MRI machines was something like 400 pounds. If someone was heavier than that, they sent them to... get this... Sea World in San Antonio for their scans.
posted by beth
That's gotta do wonders for their self-esteem.
You arrogant people pointing out the poor people in walmart are classist and racist, but hey, whatever makes you feel superior.
posted by blissing
Racism is a pretty heavy charge to throw around. I don't see any evidence of that in Ryvar's comment. Classist, yes, he does mention classes. But racist? How do you figure?
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 5:33 AM on July 28, 2006
posted by beth
That's gotta do wonders for their self-esteem.
You arrogant people pointing out the poor people in walmart are classist and racist, but hey, whatever makes you feel superior.
posted by blissing
Racism is a pretty heavy charge to throw around. I don't see any evidence of that in Ryvar's comment. Classist, yes, he does mention classes. But racist? How do you figure?
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 5:33 AM on July 28, 2006
That's right, a 'heavy' charge. Ya heard me.
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 5:37 AM on July 28, 2006
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 5:37 AM on July 28, 2006
oh, let's just regulate everything out of existence. that way everyone will be happy!
posted by brandz at 6:42 AM on July 28, 2006
posted by brandz at 6:42 AM on July 28, 2006
That's a recipe for discrimination lawsuits, and not just from the obese. For example, I have a friend who is 6'8" and weighs almost 250 pounds. Should he be penalized for being tall?
It's a shipping charge. If you want to ship yourself, you pay for it. If family A and family B want to go to Disneyland, but family A has 2 kids and family B has 7 kids, they pay different amounts because they use different resources. The airline isn't penalizing large families.
If family D lives twice as far away from Disneyland as family C does, the airline isn't penalizing people who live far away from Disneyland if it charges family D twice as much as it charges family C. Family D is simply using more fuel and more cabin time and it should pay for it.
If flights are sold by the seat and person A requires one seat while person B needs one whole seat per butt cheek, person B should pay for two seats. If person B needs an extra lunch to fill his belly, lunch should cost him twice as much, too. If person B needs an extra drink to get drunk enough, that should cost, too. It isn't penalization. Person B is using more and so should pay a fair price for the extra resources consumed.
Set a price per passenger pound, not per seat, then weigh people (with everything they are carrying) and multiply to determine the price of the ticket.
posted by pracowity at 6:45 AM on July 28, 2006
It's a shipping charge. If you want to ship yourself, you pay for it. If family A and family B want to go to Disneyland, but family A has 2 kids and family B has 7 kids, they pay different amounts because they use different resources. The airline isn't penalizing large families.
If family D lives twice as far away from Disneyland as family C does, the airline isn't penalizing people who live far away from Disneyland if it charges family D twice as much as it charges family C. Family D is simply using more fuel and more cabin time and it should pay for it.
If flights are sold by the seat and person A requires one seat while person B needs one whole seat per butt cheek, person B should pay for two seats. If person B needs an extra lunch to fill his belly, lunch should cost him twice as much, too. If person B needs an extra drink to get drunk enough, that should cost, too. It isn't penalization. Person B is using more and so should pay a fair price for the extra resources consumed.
Set a price per passenger pound, not per seat, then weigh people (with everything they are carrying) and multiply to determine the price of the ticket.
posted by pracowity at 6:45 AM on July 28, 2006
How can there even be discrimination against an overwhelming majority? - fshgrl
See apartheid.
posted by raedyn at 9:17 AM on July 28, 2006
See apartheid.
posted by raedyn at 9:17 AM on July 28, 2006
Otherwise, healthy folk are forced to subsidize the burger gobblers and share half their seat with them.
Burger gobblers are always obese, and obese people are always burger gobblers?
Guess I learned something new today after all!
posted by gnomeloaf at 11:03 AM on July 28, 2006
Burger gobblers are always obese, and obese people are always burger gobblers?
Guess I learned something new today after all!
posted by gnomeloaf at 11:03 AM on July 28, 2006
Pracowity: I can see that in the case of morbidly obese people who need special accommodations, but does it cost airlines more to ship heavier people than lighter ones? I know it works that way with freight, but with passengers it's almost always one person to one seat. I'm not sure it matters much if at all whether that person is a 250 lb. linebacker or a 120 lb woman. It's possible that it increases fuel usage, but it's also possible that the amount of fuel used to transport the plane is fairly fixed and the cost difference is trivial. I'm not sure which it is.
One thing is for sure; if we start charging airline passengers based on weight, men are going to end up paying a lot more than women, since men often weigh 20-40% due to size differences.
posted by Mitrovarr at 12:05 PM on July 28, 2006
One thing is for sure; if we start charging airline passengers based on weight, men are going to end up paying a lot more than women, since men often weigh 20-40% due to size differences.
posted by Mitrovarr at 12:05 PM on July 28, 2006
Charging by weight doensn't make much sense. A 737-800 seats 162 people in a normal 2-class layout. Each passenger is "responsible for" 250+ kg of empty airplane, assuming a full flight. The pilots and maintenance cost just a much whether the passenger load consists of Kate Moss alone or a cabin full of Comic Book Guys. Even if everyone is so fat that it's at max takeoff weight, something like two-thirds of the fuel load will be expended just hauling the empty airplane's mass around rather than the passengers.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 12:36 PM on July 28, 2006
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 12:36 PM on July 28, 2006
Feds: Obesity Raising Airline Fuel Costs:
Heavy suitcases aren't the only things weighing down airplanes and requiring them to burn more fuel, pushing up the cost of flights. A new government study reveals that airlines increasingly have to worry more about the weight of their passengers.posted by pracowity at 3:12 PM on July 28, 2006
America's growing waistlines are hurting the bottom lines of airline companies as the extra pounds on passengers are causing a drag on planes. Heavier fliers have created heftier fuel costs, according to the government study.
Through the 1990s, the average weight of Americans increased by 10 pounds, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The extra weight caused airlines to spend $275 million to burn 350 million more gallons of fuel in 2000 just to carry the additional weight of Americans, the federal agency estimated in a recent issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. ...
I'm surprised still by people I meet from other states who didn't have gym every day.
In high school we used our daily hour of PE to run off into the woods and have a smoke.
posted by Cyrano at 4:43 PM on July 28, 2006
In high school we used our daily hour of PE to run off into the woods and have a smoke.
posted by Cyrano at 4:43 PM on July 28, 2006
A good start would be to end the heavy subsidies given to the corn industry which only lowers the prices of already cheap, unhealthy foods and start subsidizing healthier alternatives. Makes too much sense I'm sure for those in Washington.
posted by jimmy76 at 5:13 PM on July 28, 2006
posted by jimmy76 at 5:13 PM on July 28, 2006
who barbecue Arab babies for fun
I think you may be exaggerating here.
posted by everichon at 12:05 AM EST on July 28 [+fave] [!]
(Received Pronunciation)
In an earlier broadcast, the BBC stated that Americans "barbecue Arab babies for fun." This phrasing may have led our listeners to believe that this was an everyday occurence.
The BBC has since learned that this disgusting practice only takes place on the American holiday of the Fourth of July, when those pastel-suited, fanny-pack-wearing lardasses stuff their faces and congratulate themselves for their "freedom" while sucking the lifeblood from the poor brown-skinned countries of the planet.
The BBC regrets the error.
(/Received Pronunciation)
posted by jason's_planet at 9:21 PM on July 28, 2006
I think you may be exaggerating here.
posted by everichon at 12:05 AM EST on July 28 [+fave] [!]
(Received Pronunciation)
In an earlier broadcast, the BBC stated that Americans "barbecue Arab babies for fun." This phrasing may have led our listeners to believe that this was an everyday occurence.
The BBC has since learned that this disgusting practice only takes place on the American holiday of the Fourth of July, when those pastel-suited, fanny-pack-wearing lardasses stuff their faces and congratulate themselves for their "freedom" while sucking the lifeblood from the poor brown-skinned countries of the planet.
The BBC regrets the error.
(/Received Pronunciation)
posted by jason's_planet at 9:21 PM on July 28, 2006
I sincerely doubt that the BBC would use the phrase "fanny pack" except perhaps in the context of drug mules.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:57 PM on July 28, 2006
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:57 PM on July 28, 2006
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