Stay Slim to Fly: Airlines Charging Extra for Overweight Flyers
obesity epidemic, wacky finds
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Could you be charged extra to fly based on your weight?
With the rising price of fuel, airlines are making all sorts of moves to cut costs and snatch extra money from their customers. Simple math and common sense shows that a heavy person costs more to transport than an Olson Twin, which has airlines discussing a fat surcharge.
Airlines are now discussing the incorporation of surcharges based on weight. While luggage has always had weight limits, people have not – but that might be changing.
An airline spokesman stated that they average a person and their luggage to weigh 220 Lbs. That is how they crunch their numbers to project profit. Most likely, that will be the magic number used to determine whether your paying standard or extra to fly.
I’ve heard two arguments to this new idea:
The first argument is obvious – Overweight individuals are outraged that there are plans in the works to discriminate and charge extra for being large. I’ve heard some say they wouldn’t fly due to embarrassment, and others claimed they would purposely fly just to sue them for discrimination.
Then there are those consumers that somewhat like the idea. These proponents of the idea claim that the airlines will be raising prices in some way, and it would only be fair to base it on weight. If shipping a package is based on weight, why isn’t it the same to ship a person? If you were shipping a 3 lbs package, how would you feel if you were paying the same price as someone shipping a 20 lbs package?
My Opinion
I am one of those people who can almost always see both side of an argument. I could see where it would be very embarrassing to travel with friends and have to explain how you’re being charged extra because of your weight.
Meanwhile, the "delivering a package" example really makes you wonder if that shouldn’t apply to shipping people as well. In that respect, is it actually discriminati... read entire entry
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on 6/5/2008
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41.7
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Skipping Breakfast Causes Obesity? A Very Stupid Accusation
obesity epidemic
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Yesterday I heard another one of those media reports making accusations about who and what is causing the obesity epidemic. Now, the "experts" have found the reason. People skipping breakfast. They claim that people are skipping breakfast, which is causing them to eat more throughout the day, and thus, causing them to become obese. They cite that this is particularly a problem with middle school and high school students.
Being involved in fitness and health, I am aware of the health benefits of eating breakfast in the morning and having many small meals throughout the day, but stating that missing breakfast in the morning is causing the obesity epidemic is one of the stupidest reports I have heard in a while. That being said, I googled this lame blame on skipping breakfast to see if there are more idiots out there who think that people are obese due to missing breakfast. Sadly, I found lots of people in support of the idea. The only person who I found common ground with was an editor who suggested that someone who skips breakfast may tend to weight 2-3 pounds more than someone who doesn't. Note: weighing 2 - 3 lbs more than an average person is not the definition of obesity, so the media needs to stop throwing the term around so loosely.
Personally, I've skipped breakfast my entire life. I've even skipped breakfast when training to make my weight class for boxing and several other times in my life when I've been hardcore workout mode. Despite skipping breakfast (the supposed CAUSE of obesity), I've maintained a body fat percentage well below average my entire life thus far (knock on wood). It drives me nuts to hear idiot reporters (who usually don't look so healthy themselves) explaining how small habits are the cause of obesity. The cause of obesity is an obvious mix of several things, that are common sense and need no reporter to point them out to us. Eating fatty foods excessively, not exercising, and having bad genes cause obesity. Ther... read entire entry
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on 3/4/2008
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32.2
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Fast Food Looks a lot Better in Commercials
obesity epidemic
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Ever notice how the McDonald's and Burger King commercials show these well prepared burgers and sandwiches, yet when you throw up your money for one it just doesn't seem as appetizing? Well I was stumbling the web for more info about fast food and I came across a site that compares fast food in commercials to the real deal you get at the nearest drive thru.
To see a comparison, go here: http://www.thewvsr.com/adsvsreality.htm
As you can see, the commercials aren't so accurate at depicting what you really get. Advertisements make fast food seem less greasy and almost make it look like it's not that bad for you. For instance, look at the first picture (Wendy's Chicken Club). In the advertisement, it looks pretty good. The lettuce looks fresh and the cheese doesn't look like a wad of fat.
So the next time you see one of those fast food commercials that gives you the urge to run out and put a few more pounds on, try to remember the reality of what you're getting. It might not be worth the extra baggage.
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on 2/18/2008
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2 |
29.4
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The World is Unfair to Fat People
obesity epidemic, dieting
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We hear the same things over and over. “America is overweight” and “We must stop the obesity epidemic.” There are millions of studies showing how people are generally overweight. But not only does the media want to point this out, but they want to place blame on everything and everyone. Fat people are constantly criticized for their figure, except for the rare times when the media feels like being nice and posts something about how it’s ok to be fat, and often times, they really can’t help it.
Let’s look at some other bodily features that humans have: Height, Skin Color, Eye Color, to name a few. We have little or no control over how tall we grow, what color our skin is, and what color our eyes are. Why? A well-known scientific aspect of life called genetics. We can try to eat the right things or hang upside down to make ourselves taller, but there’s no proof any of that make a difference. If we’re fair skinned, we can tan a lot (unless we burn easily) but skin color changes are only temporary. We can wear contacts to change our eye color, but in most people it’s an obvious fake.
So why, if all other features of our body are chalked up to genetics, do we put so much blame on those who do not have the ideal body type? My argument is, although there are definitely many people out there that could be lighter than they are, many people simply cannot help being overweight.
Oprah, who often goes on streaks of dieting, will always be overweight. She goes through periods of being slimmer, and I give her credit for that, but her genetic makeup will always be what society views as overweight. Just like WeeMan will always be short.
I know people who disagree would argue that people have more control over their weight than height, which I totally agree with. So let’s compare it to skin color. People genetically have a given skin color. Fair, medium, dark, and so on. Someone with fair skin tone, can tan often and acquire a med... read entire entry
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on 2/7/2008
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53.8
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