Too fat to fly

[loobielousplaits]

Is anyone/has anyone watched this?

It's a documentary about massively obese people being interviewed about being taken off flights/too fat to flight.

While I absolutely agree it's a 'fat shaming' programme - I can't agree with some of the comments from the interviewees that have complained they had to leave the plane due to an armrest not being able to go down - a woman wasn't able to visit the toilet, another who couldn't understand why someone would be offended that half their seat was taken up by overspill - a 32 st man was offended that he was asked to leave the aircraft because he couldn't safely fit in the seat and should have paid for two - pilot decided he wasn't safe to fly.

I'm torn - I absolutely understand weight is a huge issue (I was anorexic in my teens) and it is not easy to control your weight but come on - seriously? You cannot expect to be OK to fly if your weight affects health and safety and you can't fit safely in a seat

goodfornothinggnome Its on Channel 5 catch up, but the site seems to be down at the moment.

Totally agree pooflower. I am a size 24 and had to fly out to the US for the first time in a while. I had got myself an exit row seat for the extra legroom but then read that if you needed a seatbelt extender , you couldn't sit there. I then tried to find out what size you would be, to need an extender. I couldn't get an answer.

So I swapped my seat (losing money as a result). Got to my flight, I fitted in my seat and needed no extension. But the " to fat to fly "paranoia took over.

For what it's worth, I always get an aisle and will lean over slightly to the outside as I am so determined that I am not going to inconvenience others.

“And get twice as much space, food, drinks, luggage allowance...”
No. If you weigh more you pay more. A flight full of people weighing 100kg+ will burn significantly more fuel on takeoff than one full of people at 55-80.

There is also the issue that if you don’t fit into one seat you should have to buy two. I’ve paid for my space and have no desire to repeat the experience of having someone else’s blubber spread up my side.

Most fat people know they are fat are usually ashamed of their size and would never deliberately inconvenience others.

Not the ones I've been engulfed by on 2 flights, some clearly have a magic mirror or a disordered image of themselves.

I had one woman ask to put her drink on my tray as hers wouldn't go down, I won't bore anyone with the fiasco of serving her meal.

Surely obese people must pose some sort of a health and safety issue on planes as they're often jammed into seats - what would happen in an emergency?

Rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those with access to table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the same

And rats that ate less high fructose corn syrup, didn't get as fat as those that more of it.

We are back to simple physics again.

"And rats that ate less high fructose corn syrup didn't get as fat as those that ate more of it."

Typing too quick.

Belenus I liked your post. Do we have HFCS much here? I noticed it on holiday in the states.

Thanks, and I'm not sure. I think it's increasingly used in processed foods but I'd need to check.

@CardforKittens I think what struck me is that simple thermodynamics aren't enough when understanding how mammalian bodies handle calories. And given that obesity is still rising when fat shaming is rife, I'd say it doesn't work as a way to make people slimmer!

I do agree that there is a large element of personal responsibility here. I don't agree with claims that any discussion of obesity is fat shaming. But I do think this is a complex issue which requires more thought than "just use some self discipline and eat less".

This thread is infuriating.
Do you think a fat person enjoys squashing you with their disgusting 'blubber'!
If plus sized or double seats were available at a premium and an obese person chose to squeeze into a seat and squash someone they would be totally unreasonable.
Unfortunately on many airlines not only is this not an option it is also very difficult to find information on seat sizes. The airlines need to address this.

@PanGalaticGargleBlaster

That is what I was getting at. Eating a wholefoods diet, it's hard to get obese on that. It's that a lot of food people eat regularly, processed food, McDonalds, sweets, it's engineered to be addictive. Most obesity is a result of food addiction, particularly to engineered foods.

No, the airlines don’t need to address this, PooFlower
The vast majority of passengers are of normal stature who fit into the perfectly normal sized seats.
People who don’t are morbidly obese and this is not someone else’s problem to solve.

And rats that ate less high fructose corn syrup, didn't get as fat as those that more of it.

We are back to simple physics again

When dieting, we're often told how many calories we're allowed. Food packets will list the total number of calories. What you're not told is that not all calories are created equal. So to get slimmer, not only would you need to reduce calorie intake, you would have to further reduce your intake of anything containing corn syrup, because your body metabolises this differently to other sugars. Thus it would be a question of say an 1100 calorie a day diet, or 900 calories if x amount came from corn syrup.

You can see why this would cause people difficulties.

I do agree that people should pay more if they weigh more. I'm morbidly obese, and let me tell you, I'd happily pay more for my ticket. Happily.
I don't want to be fat shamed, but I do feel it's right to pay my way, and do do my best to not take any more than I pay for
I don't have a problem making a belt fit, but I do have an issue getting the table down. Not getting that table down means I only eat what I can eat without that table. No hot drinks and you'll find me beside my husband or daughter. I can fit in my seat (just about!) But I don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable. I do all I can to be responsible of my own situation, and I try not to ruin anyone else's trip because of my size.

I do think we should pay the same equivalent of an upgrade to a bigger seat if we can't fit. And pay for the extra weight, at the same sort of ratio worked out for luggage.

I do always wonder what will happen when 50/60/70 people of size turn up for a flight and have all used their full quota of luggage though. Stops for fuel? Only x amount of people admitted onto flights?

Agree that why someone is overweight is of no consequence to the adjacent passenger. I don't care if someone eats 10 Big Macs a day or has a medical condition that makes them swell up like a balloon. All that matters is that a person stays within the bounds of their own seat.

Can any airline person please give us an idea why airlines do not decree that you must fit in the seat before booking?

You can see why this would cause people difficulties

I can, but it is possible lose weight without changing your diet at all, even if your diet consists of "unhealthy" crap.

You just have to eat less of it. It really is that simple.

Belenus the problem with corn syrup, and fructose, generally, is that it messes with people's appetite regulation. Contrary to glucose it will not make you feel saturated.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4429636/

That is one reason I think it is so wrong to lay it all on the feet of the individual while letting corporations who sell it (and politicians who allow it to be sold) off the hook.

It is as nonsensical as blaming the individual for the opoid crisis he or she fell victim to or blaming individual life style choices like driving to work by car for global warming, while ignoring that there is no public transport and often no possibility to afford living near work.

You just have to eat less of it. It really is that simple.

Well, if you still feel hungry after eating the crap food, as is the case with corn syrup sweetened stuff, it is not really simple.

Can any airline person please give us an idea why airlines do not decree that you must fit in the seat before booking?

Apparently, some do have a obesity policies...

www.smartertravel.com/airline-obesity-policies/

Ah, I see from Kennehora's link that passengers have no right to a seat that is not encroached upon by a fellow passenger.

The point I am trying to make is it is very difficult when booking to book extra space or two seats despite what the terms and conditions state. I was passed from pillow to post and advised that I would be fine. I was fine but I could have been 40 stone for all the operator knew.
I personally would never encroach on someone elses seat.
Give customers clear options.
A simple tick box of either 'i agree that I will fit into a space of x size' or 'i will not fit into a space of x' followed by the option to book two seats for one person, online without having to speak to a multitude of people both on booking and boarding.

I have read through this thread and have seen no mention of obesity and airline loos. I am a pretty average sized person and whenever I fly I always find the loo cubicle ridiculously small. It must be awful if you are, say, a big broad bloke (like a friends husband who is 6 foot 4 and 16 stone, but not an ounce of fat on him), and if must be equally as bad if you are genuinely obese. I did see a programme some time ago about an extremely obese person flying, but couldn't use the loo because they just didn't fit in such a tiny space. I could never last any but the shortest flight without a mid air pee. How on earth do these large people manage to fit in the cubicle and actually shut the door?

Sugar is not a nutrient. Stop eating sugar and you will lose weight, since it is simply raw calories which are most easily converted into fat.

HFCS is just fructose - a type of sugar. If you stop drinking beer and wine, stop eating sweets, cakes and biscuits, stop putting sugar in things and give up fruit smoothies and juice (eat fruit instead) you’ll soon lose weight.

Don’t make me bring out the jacuzzi story - the reason I now never go to indoor swimming pools.

They are ludicrously tiny. I suspect very large people just don’t go to the loo on flights. I try to avoid it wherever possible, myself (mostly because the sucky flush scares me!).

Easyjet are chatting shit if they think their seats have a standard size. The last four times I've flown on have been on Easyjet, and for both trips the plane out there had a seat that was too small - I had to ask for an extender and couldn't put my tray down. (Yes the armrest was down.) Yet on the flight back the seat belt fitted fine and the tray came all the way down. I'd guess the 2nd plane was newer as well, so it's not shrinking seats. They're clearly different plane specs, but buggered if I know which was which to know to buy a 2nd seat.

So do I book an extra seat every time and get a refund if it's a plane I do fit in? If you offer plus size seats, how do you ensure only plus size people book them? Wouldn't lots of people pay extra for extra room? If all the plus size seats are sold when I come to book do I not get to fly? What if there's a skinny in the seat, they going to be escorted off the flight because they shouldn't be there?