I saw on tv that they are now making Hybrid SUV's. Thought I would just mention it.

The thing is there is no justification for having such a vehicle in the UK (IMHO), unless it's for industrial/agricultural purposes. Everything here is simply on a smaller scale - the roads are narrower, things are, by nature of being a smaller country, naturally closer together, weather conditions are lesss extreme that a lot of places. Add to that the fact that they seem to be less safe than your average family car. Yes, any heavy car is going to come off better in a collision than a supermini-type, but they have higher centre of gravity and so are going to be more inclined to roll. They are also hugely less safe for any pedestrian that they hit, hitting them in the torso (head height to a small even-less-visible-from-an-SUV child) pushing anyone they hit underneath, rather than in the legs causing them to roll onto the bonnet of the car. This is a standard safety feature so why SUV/4x4 types are even legal is beyond me.

Uh, not that I care... :shrug: *slinks away from the soapbox*

well i agree with the 4x4s lol
i think that it does kind of make sence, but obviously some people are bigger because of medical problems, and pregnancy ect. so the rules around it would have to be really odd. and i bet some people would sue people for being prejudice.

well this got a fair few responses the 4x4 scenario was based for the uk the so called chelsea tractor. as for the flying i feel that as stated before all infants should be charged an annoyance tax incase they are the noisey ones that is a great idea. however most children over a very young age do pay full price.

Similar but different :p While boarding for a long flight, I passed a very large man trying to get seated. He must have weighed at least 400 pounds. He was ill, had a cane, and could barely stand as the stewards tried to help him into a seat in the bulkhead of economy class. He looked at me and actually said "They usually just let me sit in First Class". I was very upset. I thought if he KNEW he needed the extra room provided by the first class seats, why didn't he BUY first class instead of expecting a free upgrade?

If our size impacts the people around us and/or our own personal comfort, then we need to accept that as a responsibility and act accordingly. I don't think the world should continue to adapt to the increasing girth of humans beyond what is considered a healthy weight. I'm getting ready to renovate my bathroom, and was shopping for a toilet last week. My jaw dropped when I saw a plus size toilet! Now I've seen it all :lol: Ok, so if someone is large enough to require a plus size toilet, they can certainly buy one and use it in the privacy of their own home. But public toilets will not and should not get larger, and neither should airline seats (though they shouldn't get any smaller, lol).

Regarding the OT, yes I think we should pay extra if it really costs extra to fly us.

I don't think we need to pay extra because we are larger people. Then what do we need to pay extra to go to the buffet too? That just isn't fair, just like with monkey said about the babies, do they pay an annoying tax? Should loud groups pay a loud group tax?
Heavey people have enough trouble as it is, now we should charge them extra? I don't think so. That's just my opinion, because I care about people and equality. Do they charge hadicap or elderly people to use the trucks and have assistance on and off the plane? No.

I've never needed a plus-size toilet (though I have on occasion been unable to use regular stalls, but they were stalls so small I'm sure some thin people could get in only by backing in. When the door only opens inward, it should not hit the toilet. I know I have very thin relatives with arthrits, MS and other disabilities that have the same complaints I do about restroom stalls).

I do have a problem with "health police," deciding that the world should only accomodate people of a "healthy weight." It encourages the belief that if you are morbidly obese you SHOULD stay home and not expose "normal" people to your grotesqueness. Many people seem to believe that shunning obese people, discourages obesity, but the opposite is true. The more obese people isolate themselves, whether by choice or circumstance, the less likely they are to be successful at weight loss. Besides, who gets to determine what the cut-off line will be?


Supply and demand will always favor the "average." If the average becomes larger, then businesses will accomodate larger people because that is where the money will be. Most of the accomodations that an obese person needs are the same accomodations many handicapped people need. Sturdy armless chairs instead of booths, and larger toilets or toilets with more floor space on all sides would be easier for a very obese person to use, but also for a thin person with any handicap that affects mobility and flexibility. These accomodations will not be made though unless businesses are required to make them, or the average person (with the most money to spend) needs them.

There are some cases of obesity that are caused by medical problems, and even reactions to some medications. While it's true that very often the weight can still be managed, it may take some time for even a very dedicated person with the help of a good doctor to get things right. Do we consider these people legitimately handicapped? Or are we so intent on punishing the "bad" obese people (whose obesity is their own fault) that we don't care if the "good" obese people get caught in the crossfire and are punished as well. Do we forbid obese people from using handicapped toilet stalls, because obesity is their fault? Of course if we're going to do that, should we ban the guy in the wheelchair who became paralyzed because he drove drunk?

I don't have a problem paying more when the price is not discriminatory, but if it's based on someone thinking that paying more will somehow deter people from boming overweight or somehow punish the obese, I think they don't understand the problem of obesity very well.

My opinion is this...I don't know about the whole fuel situation...how much it actually costs more to fly heavier people but that is one thing that I am willing to let slide. It is a little harder to spend that much money to fly and have my personal space invaded if someone can physically not fit into their own seat and is touching me because of it! In my opinion that is the only reason that heavier people would be charged more...no weighing or anything...just have a model of the seat...have everyone do a quick sit and if you are overflowing, get charged for the extra seat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m35i4B7Lfl4

This says it all. Three british blokes crossed the spine of africa in two wheel drive cars. PEOPLE IN THE UK AND USA DO NOT NEED SUVs or TRUCKS for day to day soccer mom life.

I understand people who live in terrain that's rocky or very hilly and when it is needed for work purposes.

Hahaha :lol: i'm sat here giggling at some of these replies :lol3: but its made me think :shrug: when we purchase a ticket the airline does'nt know if its for a 400lb person or a 100lb person do they? I can't remember giving my weight on a passport application :dunno: I know its on my drivers licence :shrug: so how could they enforce it? would we all have to get weighed at customs as well as take off our shoes and get frisked :?: :lol: god we'd never get anywhere :lol: its ridiculous. As for two pounds per kilo, where does distance come into it? Are you going to Spain or Florida :dunno: seriously though you've got me thinking :?: do they average out X number of people times X number of pounds ? then add the luggage to see if the thing is capable of taking off or what :yikes: now i'd like to know ;)

With you on both issues. And I don't think there are medical grounds for being fat, either - I have PCOS (insulin issues) which affects weight and makes it much harder for me to lose weight. Basically, I get obese if I eat more than 1400 cals a day, or that's my observation over the years.

I'd go one further and make flight horrendously expensive so you cut it down to only business flights. But then I'm an old tree-hugger.:carrot: Mind you, I also think the government moan about obesity and what it costs the NHS but won't risk doing the dirty (but practical) thing and fat taxing the foreign fast food companies off the high sts as let's face it, we only got an obesity problem after they came here. When I was a kid, one kid in a class or maybe even an entire school year was obese. Now they seem to be the majority. You have to take hard and unpopular decisions to tackle that... I'd also tax 'bad' foods and subsidise healthy ones and subsidise organic farming much better - and penalise non organic.

With you on the chelsea tractors, too. We live literally in the middle of nowhere, and to even get to the next village my car is splattered with mud - lots of dodgy lanes badly maintained by the council, etc. Only farmers need 4 X 4s and not even all of them need them. We've lost count of the no' of times we've seen 4x4s with just one person in - or a woman and a little kid, at 3pm round here. And if you see them parked up in town, they are always spotlessly clean so clearly they haven't come from the sticks or they'd be black with mud like my car is every day! There was a show on TV where they lined up a load of kids behind a 4X4 to prove how dire the visibility is and how dangerous they are to pedestrians - I think they had best part of a dozen kids behind the car before the driver knew even one was there!

Question about the seats on planes -- I've always had a bit of a panic every time I go to get my boarding pass (I think: Is this the day I've tipped the scales to them asking me to get a second seat?), luckily it never happened and now I'm losing so hopefully it will never be an issue, but I'm wondering... how do they decide? Does the girl at check-in give you the once over and say, oooh she looks like she needs an extra seat? Does the same go for the extra fuel cost? Do they just decide it on sight?

I actually just got back from flying and I was worried about not fitting in the seat, it was a relief when I fit and was able to get the seat buckle on with no problems. I hope the next time I fly the thought doesn't even need to cross my mind.