UA Charging Obese People for Extra Seat
- Thread starter ILSstud
- Start date
WacoFan
Bigly
Sorry 'bout that. Didn't know he was on your ignore list.
aloft
New Member
aloft
New Member
Your mastery of the subject is overwhelming.
pullup
Homewrecker
Your mastery of the subject is overwhelming.
So you're saying fat people can't lose weight?
aloft
New Member
Some can, some can't. Depends on the cause. For some, the cause is simply overeating and inactivity. For others, there are underlying medical conditions--in which case, it absolutely is a physical disability that deserves legal protections. Problem is, the average shmuck on the street has no way of discerning the cause of an individual's obesity, so he naively attributes it to laziness and gluttony.
aloft
New Member
Bet you're a real joy to be around.
SFCC/UND
Well-Known Member
Let say I was on a flight where I didn't need my seat belt because I was tucked in pretty good.
pullup
Homewrecker
I would hazard a guess to say that MOST is due to overeating and poor health habits. The medically obese I fully understand, however many people blame it on genes and whatnot...as they're wolfing down fried chicken and washing it down with melted butter.
WacoFan
Bigly
My sister-in-law is a walrus. It always makes me wonder as she is pounding down a Big Mac with Super-size fries when she gets a Diet Coke. I mean - she is in the 280 range which would work if she were 6'11". Unfortunately she is 5'6". Does she really think the Diet Coke is saving her some pounds as she eats the Mickey D's? If she were pleasant it would be ok and I would have worry for her. She is not however - one of the few large people I know that is not jolly and a nice person.
I prefer the taste of diet pepsi to regular. It doesn't mean I'm trying to save a bunch of calories...just prefer the taste. Maybe she's the same way?
-mini
ozone
Well-Known Member
For your reading pleasure....And just to throw water on the oil-soaked fire that Waco and Aloft started :buck:
This is an exerpt from: GASTROENTEROLOGY 2007;132:2087–2102
"Throughout history, considerable effort has been devoted
to finding ways to improve the adequacy and stability
of the food supply and to reduce the energy expenditure
required for work. As a result, an organism
adapted for a situation in which food was limited and
physical exertion was required now often is confronted
with an environment in which palatable energy-dense
foods are obtained easily with minimal physical activity.
129,130 Increased modernization and a Westernized diet
and lifestyle are associated with an increased prevalence
of overweight in many developing countries. This sometimes
has been referred to as the nutrition transition or part
of a transition to modernity.131 There is little evidence,
however, of a point at which this process ceases.
The factors that determine body weight and body
composition in the absence of major environmental constraints
are not well understood.132 Energy intake and
energy expenditure, the ability to store excess fat under
conditions of overfeeding and the ability to lose fat under
conditions of underfeeding, all appear to have genetic
elements.133–136 Genetic factors, however, are unlikely to
explain the current increases in the prevalence of overweight
and obesity occurring in the United States, the
United Kingdom, and many other countries.129,130 Surprisingly
little is known about these increases in overweight
and obesity. Clearly, individual behaviors along
with social, cultural, and environmental factors also must
play important roles. It is likely that a gene-environment
interaction, in which genetically susceptible individuals
respond to an environment with increased availability of
palatable energy-dense foods and reduced opportunities
for energy expenditure, contributes to our current high
prevalence of obesity. Reductions in physical activity and
changes in energy intake contribute to these but are
difficult to measure.137,138"
If you REALLY want, here's the whole paper: <cite>nchspressroom.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/gastropaper.pdf
And, to really bore you even more here's another article:
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/pagerender.fcgi?artid=1629353&pageindex=1#page
</cite>
This is an exerpt from: GASTROENTEROLOGY 2007;132:2087–2102
"Throughout history, considerable effort has been devoted
to finding ways to improve the adequacy and stability
of the food supply and to reduce the energy expenditure
required for work. As a result, an organism
adapted for a situation in which food was limited and
physical exertion was required now often is confronted
with an environment in which palatable energy-dense
foods are obtained easily with minimal physical activity.
129,130 Increased modernization and a Westernized diet
and lifestyle are associated with an increased prevalence
of overweight in many developing countries. This sometimes
has been referred to as the nutrition transition or part
of a transition to modernity.131 There is little evidence,
however, of a point at which this process ceases.
The factors that determine body weight and body
composition in the absence of major environmental constraints
are not well understood.132 Energy intake and
energy expenditure, the ability to store excess fat under
conditions of overfeeding and the ability to lose fat under
conditions of underfeeding, all appear to have genetic
elements.133–136 Genetic factors, however, are unlikely to
explain the current increases in the prevalence of overweight
and obesity occurring in the United States, the
United Kingdom, and many other countries.129,130 Surprisingly
little is known about these increases in overweight
and obesity. Clearly, individual behaviors along
with social, cultural, and environmental factors also must
play important roles. It is likely that a gene-environment
interaction, in which genetically susceptible individuals
respond to an environment with increased availability of
palatable energy-dense foods and reduced opportunities
for energy expenditure, contributes to our current high
prevalence of obesity. Reductions in physical activity and
changes in energy intake contribute to these but are
difficult to measure.137,138"
If you REALLY want, here's the whole paper: <cite>nchspressroom.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/gastropaper.pdf
And, to really bore you even more here's another article:
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/pagerender.fcgi?artid=1629353&pageindex=1#page
</cite>
BobDDuck
Island Bus Driver
I just spent about 11 hours on two different UAL jumpseats yesterday and this morning. Both crews talked about this but one of them brought up a very good point. United has some "pilots of size". What happens if one of them is deadheading somewhere. Should United book two seats for the deadhead or should they refund a portion of the ticket for the people sitting next to them?
Also, somewhat unrelated, on the redeye I was on there was a special needs passenger who was traveling with her "comfort" animal, a dog named Zeus The thing was, Zeus was listed as weighing 196 pounds on the passenger manifest. He was HUGE. They'd put the family (there were 7 of them traveling) in the first two rows of first class and Zeus was between 1A and the bulkhead. I went back to use the lav about halfway through the flight and asked the Purser how the dog was doing. He goes, "well, now that he's sleeping everything is fine". Apparently the dog had been up and walking around up and down the aisle and the FAs had been unable to keep him in first class and nobody from the family was willing to do anything.
I'm not sure I'd want to even try to keep 196 pounds of dog from wandering back into Economy Plus.
Also, somewhat unrelated, on the redeye I was on there was a special needs passenger who was traveling with her "comfort" animal, a dog named Zeus The thing was, Zeus was listed as weighing 196 pounds on the passenger manifest. He was HUGE. They'd put the family (there were 7 of them traveling) in the first two rows of first class and Zeus was between 1A and the bulkhead. I went back to use the lav about halfway through the flight and asked the Purser how the dog was doing. He goes, "well, now that he's sleeping everything is fine". Apparently the dog had been up and walking around up and down the aisle and the FAs had been unable to keep him in first class and nobody from the family was willing to do anything.
I'm not sure I'd want to even try to keep 196 pounds of dog from wandering back into Economy Plus.
aloft
New Member
Funny how the stuff after what you bolded was the more telling part. I've bolded the most interesting parts.
aloft
New Member
I was on a full flight on SkyWest not too long ago, and at the last minute, a really large captain (not terribly fat, but large in all dimensions--your basic gargantuan), comes aboard huffing and puffing as if he had ran to catch the flight. There were two seats being held for him, so I'm guessing he was deadheading.
pullup
Homewrecker
You've bolded the part where it says people are probably fat because they eat too much crap and don't exercise? Bout time.
Are you seeeeeerioulsy going to try and argue that fat-asses in America are due to some genetic thing? Really? Have you looked at American culture, diet, and priorities lately? Fat people need to man up, stop eating Chunkys while watching Jerry Springer, and get out and ride a bike or something. Enough with the excuses already.
PeterPilot
New Member
UA's definition goes beyond "a" seat belt. It doesn't kick in until the person needs a second seat belt extender or you cannot fit in one seat.
aloft
New Member
Wow, did you major in oversimplification?
The issue, many suspect, is not just overeating and lack of exercise, but of the *kinds* of food people are eating. There was a CNN reporter who spent a month living on food stamps down in New Orleans just to see what it's like, and what he discovered is that for the poor, it is damn near impossible to maintain any semblance of healthy eating. CFIs and regional FOs subsisting on ramen can vouch for this.
But the issue, I think, revolves around the food manufacturing industry and the proliferation of high-fructose corn syrup, which is in everything from ketchup to bread. Use of high-fructose corn syrup in food manufacturing really took off in the 1970s, which, when combined with a major change in the FDA's dietary guidelines from the four food groups to the carb-heavy food pyramid, changed what people eat in an incredibly fundamental way.
There's waay more to it than diet and exercise, man. In 2000, I lost 70 lbs doing Atkins, eating bunless double quarter pounders, caesar salads and lots of eggs, while getting absolutely zero exercise. Conversely, In 2004-2006, I gained about 45 lbs despite 2 hr workouts 4 times a week, while not really watching what I ate. My mom has a thyroid disease called Grave's disease, so it's very likely I have some sort of thyroid deficiency myself, haven't had it checked to find out for sure. But I have a friend who had thyroid cancer and had her thyroid either removed surgically or destroyed by radiation therapy, who tells me that if your thyroid doesn't function properly, it doesn't matter how much you work out, you won't affect your metabolism in the slightest. Getting on the right dose of thyroid replacement drugs, and your metabolism will finally get under control.
Bottom line, when it comes to the human body, we know so little about how it really works than to make sweeping, naive statements such as those you're so fond of making.
See you in 10 or 15 years after your metabolism slows down, champ. We'll see what tune you're whistling then.