We Are Too Fat

This thread is going to be a place for me to stash away articles related to America's obesity epidemic.  Specifically, I am interested in how society is adapting to our growing body size.  The first article demonstrates this perfectly: 

America's ballooning obesity problem has reached the decks of Chicago tour boats

This fact startled me:  "After two vessels sank in the U.S. in the mid-2000s, the Coast Guard began evaluating weight capacities on boats and determined per-person limits didn't account for the increase in weight of the average American."

Imagine being on a boat with a bunch of obese people who refuse to spread out.  I wonder if they could sue for being told to move to the opposite end.   
___
5/19


Should airlines offer larger seats for fat passengers?  That is the question posed at the end of this article, about an overweight woman's experience with Southwest Airlines.  Both the woman and her fat mother were asked to purchase an additional ticket before boarding their flight on Easter.  


The policy at Southwest seems simple enough to me.  If any part of your body hangs over the armrest, you are too fat for one seat.  Sure, I feel bad for the lady because she was treated so rudely.  But, having had to sit next to overly obese folks in multiple situations before, I think it is only fair to question their ability to fit.  It is just like checking a short persons height before letting them board a roller coaster.  


Now, as to the article's ending question: Should airlines build seats to accommodate the people of the world's expanding waistlines?  I think this would be a great idea.  But, just like those seats with extra leg room, these "extra capacity" seats should cost a little more.  Maybe if these seats were added, we would have less "I was harassed by the airline for being too fat," stories hitting the news every couple months.