Debate: Overweight people and airplanes

[theben]

3 Questions, some stray off topic.

Should you force an overweight person to buy two or more seats on an airplane to accomodate abnormally large size, or do you allow them to squeeze into one seat and ruin 2-4 other peoples' flight?

When going on an airplane flight are you buying space or a seat for yourself, regardless of how much space "yourself" occupies?

Would you consider policy forcing some to buy multiple tickets a form of discrimination? (for that matter, do you consider being highly obese a legitimate disability like paraplegia, blindness, mental retardation, etc)

[eviljeff]

let the airlines set the policy. I see the need for government intervention to prevent unfair discrimination in some cases, but this isn't one of them. if airlines start losing money for having an "anti-fat" stigma they'll change their policy.

[BZ_Zorro]

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Should you force an overweight person to buy two or more seats on an airplane to accomodate abnormally large size, or do you allow them to squeeze into one seat and ruin 2-4 other peoples' flight?

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The first option. Fat also cost more in fuel because of the extra weight.

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When going on an airplane flight are you buying space or a seat for yourself, regardless of how much space "yourself" occupies?

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A seat for yourself.

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Would you consider policy forcing some to buy multiple tickets a form of discrimination?

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No. The issue is just like luggage. If you go far beyond the definition of standard, you should pay more to compensate for it.

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(for that matter, do you consider being highly obese a legitimate disability like paraplegia, blindness, mental retardation, etc)

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No I do not. It is a medical condition, but one that is caused solely by lack of willpower. No different to heroin addiction.

I hate fat people. They may as well walk around with an L on their forehead. Weight loss/weight gain is not rocket science. If you put more in your mouth than your daily energy needs, you gain weight. Less, you lose weight.

[Piz0wn0reD!!!!!!]

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It is a medical condition, but one that is caused solely by lack of willpower. No different to heroin addiction.

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this is not true. In some cases (although not the majority) obeisity is caused from genetics or disease.

[BZ_Zorro]

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this is not true. In some cases (although not the majority) obeisity is caused from genetics or disease.

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If by disease you mean mental illness, I agree.

Otherwise, it's easy: The only way to gain weight is to put more food into your body than it uses. Everything else is irrelevant.

So eat less or exercise more. This is as basic as it gets.

BTW, some of these people you talk about have gastric surgery...which reduces the amount of food they get in their stomach. This doesn't change their genetics or any cure any disease, it just reduces the amount of food they can shovel down their gullet.

[Scotch78]

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It is a medical condition, but one that is caused solely by lack of willpower.

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That's not entirely true. I have no idea what percentage of people this would apply to, but there are glandular problems that can cause obesity.

Scott

[superleeds]

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That's not entirely true. I have no idea what percentage of people this would apply to, but there are glandular problems that can cause obesity.

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No. Obesity is caused by consuming more calories than you burn. It's that simple. The glandular problems you refer too are probably the very few people whose mechanisms for telling the body it is satiated are compromised. For the rest, and that is almost all obese people, it's because their eat too much and exercise too little.

[daryn]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In risposta di:</font><hr />
</font><blockquote><font class="small">In risposta di:</font><hr />
That's not entirely true. I have no idea what percentage of people this would apply to, but there are glandular problems that can cause obesity.

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No. Obesity is caused by consuming more calories than you burn. It's that simple. The glandular problems you refer too are probably the very few people whose mechanisms for telling the body it is satiated are compromised. For the rest, and that is almost all obese people, it's because their eat too much and exercise too little.

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the key here is that different bodies burn calories at different rates. some people can do absolutely no exercise and eat everything in the world and never gain weight. that's just the way it is.

i love how people think that every overweight person in the world is some kind of food maniac who eats pies cakes and ice cream non stop.

[superleeds]

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the key here is that different bodies burn calories at different rates. some people can do absolutely no exercise and eat everything in the world and never gain weight. that's just the way it is.

i love how people think that every overweight person in the world is some kind of food maniac who eats pies cakes and ice cream non stop

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Yes ok people have different metabolisms but obese people are not obese because of this. It's because when they do stop eating pies, cakes and ice cream they watch TV. As someone said earlier, it ain't rocket science.

[Duke]

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That's not entirely true. I have no idea what percentage of people this would apply to, but there are glandular problems that can cause obesity.

[/ QUOTE ]

No. Obesity is caused by consuming more calories than you burn. It's that simple. The glandular problems you refer too are probably the very few people whose mechanisms for telling the body it is satiated are compromised. For the rest, and that is almost all obese people, it's because their eat too much and exercise too little.

[/ QUOTE ]

the key here is that different bodies burn calories at different rates. some people can do absolutely no exercise and eat everything in the world and never gain weight. that's just the way it is.

i love how people think that every overweight person in the world is some kind of food maniac who eats pies cakes and ice cream non stop.

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Well said.

~D