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Food, Fat, Obesity and Airplanes - a question

#21
The food restrictions issue does point out the great hypocrisy in our "free" society. Many people who are against draconian smoking laws, for example, point out that food content is the next logical step on that slippery slope.

In a nutshell, my health is none of anyone's gd business.

As far as airlines these days, remember that they retrofitted their planes a few years back with smaller seats fitted closer together. Beyond that, they do require people over a certain size to purchase two seats, to meet FAA regulations about armrests down and seatbelts fastened. (There is a current gossip item about corpulent film director Kevin Smith squeezing into a single seat when a flight-bump took him off the flight on which he had two seats.)

OTOH, I'm 6'4" (193cm), weigh 260, and am healthy and not fat. I have no problem fitting my waist/hips into a normal airline seat. My shoulders might take half of the adjacent seats, and my knees might be up under my chin, but I do fit. Should I be penalized?
 
#23
While smoking is known to be unhealthy from the first drag, and drinking has very short-term indications that you're overdoing it, food is a more vicious problem.

Individual needs vary so much that it is impossible to offer advice on food intake, other than by individual counselling. Of course everyone's body has the capacity to send a satiety signal. Nowadays, with overfeeding happening very early in one's life and following into a sedentary lifestyle where fat & processed food is advertised through billion-dollars ads, it takes a very conscious effort for someone to eat healthy and in normal amounts.
 
#24
well a comment on question #2 here, i fly quite often here in the states and im about 6' 3" 250lbs. i dont consider myself fat, im not skinny by any means but im not a walking heart attck either. for me the seats are kind of tight and are way to close togther. i agree with deluxe red i shouldnt be penalized for my genes making me tall now on the other hand some 500lbs person is a different story but we in the states dont have the back bone to stand up and say your to damn heavy and wide to be on this plane, thats why its such a issue
 
#25
I was reading about the whole Kevin Smith thing yesterday as well.

As far as Americans being touchy about the whole fat thing, I would probably agree with most of what's already been said. People really want to have the right to be unhealthy. I have an aunt that is very large with all the associated health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. When her doctor told her to lose some weight she was ready to have a fit.

As far as planes go ... you really have an industry that only makes money by stuffing as many people into a sardine can as possible. Well it just so happens that the sardines have gotten bigger, costs of operation have increased, and people want lower prices. So the end result is that fat people have to pay for two seats for many airlines and if you are tall with wide shoulders you're pretty much SOL.
 
#29
DeluxeRed said:
In a nutshell, my health is none of anyone's gd business.
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It is and it isn't. Unless you're paying for 100% of your health care on your own, someone is picking up part or all of that tab. That would either be some sort of insurance, which is spread out among participants or added to taxes. It's not that I lack sympathy, but I don't enjoy paying for those who take poor care of themselves. The cost of keeping someone healthy vs. fixing problems is amazingly cheaper favoring preventative measures.
 
#31
username n/a said:
You need to understand something. The majority of Americans are very, very dumb.
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I think that is untrue, due to two reasons.

1. Interwebz stupidity. Lots of Americans troll forums with stupid replies. But what nation's people does not? Thing is, Amerccan presence on most forums are generally higher than any other nation (of those places I visit, anyway), meaning they have a bigger quota of stupid. Does not mean the 'percentage' is any different in total.

2. The media focus on the idiots. I've seen youtube clips of Americans being asked "Which year was 9/11?", and most of them have no clue. That is just a matter of asking enough people. You are bound to find some stupid people in the end.
 
#35
XtreO said:
I think that is untrue, due to two reasons.

1. Interwebz stupidity. Lots of Americans troll forums with stupid replies. But what nation's people does not? Thing is, Amerccan presence on most forums are generally higher than any other nation (of those places I visit, anyway), meaning they have a bigger quota of stupid. Does not mean the 'percentage' is any different in total.

2. The media focus on the idiots. I've seen youtube clips of Americans being asked "Which year was 9/11?", and most of them have no clue. That is just a matter of asking enough people. You are bound to find some stupid people in the end.
Click to expand...

Trust me. I come in contact with Americans every day. Most of them are dumb. A lot of them are ******** too. However that's a topic for another day.
 
#37
As someone who is 6'5" and not skinny by any means, I can assure you I hate flying. I truly hate being crammed into tiny seats. It's probably just as un pleasant for me as it is for the person next to me. I already have my shoulders in everyone's business, and I have to deal with the awkwardness of that, and paying more is a lot like kicking me while I'm down
 
#38
I sort of agree with username, but that's another topic.

I want to see all of this food additive ******** cut out of our food. I am so sick of seeing High Fructose Corn Syrup in every ******* thing here. Last January through June I lived in England and I noticed my body weight dropped. Soon as I came back I'd say by the end of the summer I put on ten pounds. Another thing that gets me going is our work hours, I've heard this contributes to obesity and I will not argue this. Two years ago I worked 10-12 hours a day in an office and I put on a whole hell of a lot of weight. I was really disgusted when I realized that at the end of the summer. I just hate how much crap our food has in it and how hard it is to find stuff that doesn't.
 
#39
username n/a said:
Trust me. I come in contact with Americans every day. Most of them are dumb. A lot of them are ******** too. However that's a topic for another day.
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It's not just Americans. Unfortunately, most people on this planet are dumb and prone to a-holeish behavior.

I'm also in favor of larger seats on planes. I'm not exactly fat (6'0" 175 lbs.) but my shoulders don't even come close to fitting in my seat. The worst is when you get stuck in an isle seat and they smash you with the cart every time they come by. I swear those sadistic wenches aim for me.
 

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