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Weigh more, pay more: Argument for charging obese people higher flying fares

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Re: Weigh more, pay more: Argument for charging obese people higher flying fares

#21

Post by nasmorn »

vacri wrote: post #15

Yet, in terms of the airplane’s fuel consumption, it is all the same whether the extra weight is baggage or body fat. ... because as we all know, there is no cost whatsoever in handling large amounts of luggage. Which do you think would cost more: 100kg per person, with fat people who had little luggage, or 100kg per person, 50kg in person, and 50kg is excess luggage. As a tall man, I hate this stupid point. I can't…

Your point about luggage handling seems quite convincing.

But i wonder how tall you are for setting your healthy lower weight limit at 110kg. I am 175cm at 70kg and I am not skinny. So allowing an extra cm per kilo you would have to be 210cm. Which is entirely possible.

Re: Weigh more, pay more: Argument for charging obese people higher flying fares

#22

Post by daeken »

heretohelp wrote: post #14
tomp wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a lot of evidence that obesity is not hereditary/predetermined, but is a choice (or a consequence of a weak mind/bad incentives). I was in Vietnam 5 years ago. I didn't see any fat people. Look at photos/documentaries of Africa. No fat people. To take it to the extreme, there were no fat people in Auschwitz. That is not to say that it was good in any way and that people should starve, but just that it is not…

Obesity is 100% calories in/calories out. Good thing I'm at a startup trying to help people eat healthy and in reasonable portions without feeling unduly hungry.

Do you have any info on your startup? I'm way, way overweight (somewhere around 380lbs) and currently attempting to get myself into a healthy lifestyle. Anything that makes that easier would definitely get my money.

Re: Weigh more, pay more: Argument for charging obese people higher flying fares

#23

Post by moonchrome »

heretohelp wrote: post #14
tomp wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a lot of evidence that obesity is not hereditary/predetermined, but is a choice (or a consequence of a weak mind/bad incentives). I was in Vietnam 5 years ago. I didn't see any fat people. Look at photos/documentaries of Africa. No fat people. To take it to the extreme, there were no fat people in Auschwitz. That is not to say that it was good in any way and that people should starve, but just that it is not…

Obesity is 100% calories in/calories out. Good thing I'm at a startup trying to help people eat healthy and in reasonable portions without feeling unduly hungry.

Sarcasm ? I mean I'm not saying that people crying about genetics and how they can't help it aren't just wining but AFAIK it matters very much what kind your diet consists of and how physically fit you are ie. carbs, insulin sensitivity and muscle mass are crucial factors, calories in/out seem waay to simplistic.

Re: Weigh more, pay more: Argument for charging obese people higher flying fares

#25

Post by [deleted] »

heretohelp wrote: post #14
tomp wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a lot of evidence that obesity is not hereditary/predetermined, but is a choice (or a consequence of a weak mind/bad incentives). I was in Vietnam 5 years ago. I didn't see any fat people. Look at photos/documentaries of Africa. No fat people. To take it to the extreme, there were no fat people in Auschwitz. That is not to say that it was good in any way and that people should starve, but just that it is not…

Obesity is 100% calories in/calories out. Good thing I'm at a startup trying to help people eat healthy and in reasonable portions without feeling unduly hungry.

[deleted]

Re: Weigh more, pay more: Argument for charging obese people higher flying fares

#26

Post by kylec »

I can't wait for passenger rail to take off in the US. The weight of the passengers is virtually inconsequential - CSX has advertized that they can transport 1 ton of freight 436 miles on a single gallon of diesel fuel. Obviously people aren't freight, but even if it ends up being 10x that amount of passengers, that's still pennies for an increased cost if someone is overweight or obese.

Re: Weigh more, pay more: Argument for charging obese people higher flying fares

#27

Post by CWIZO »

slimdizzy wrote: post #3

The author dilutes and weakens his argument by bringing up obesity. Whether a 80kg person is 40% fat or 10% fat doesn't matter; the central point is that a person who weighs more, consumes more, and thus ought to pay more. I wish he stuck more to that point instead of running off on the tangent about health and the environment. Friends with whom I discuss this proposal often say that many obese people cannot help bei…

"Maybe extremely heavy people who are literally spilling over into the seat next to them should be forced to purchase two seats or upgrade to a roomier first class seat, because it's not fair for the poor guy sitting next to him."

This! Every time I fly I'm nervous to see who I'll be sitting next to. I'm already cramped in my seat and I really don't need somebody else's fat (I don't mean to be rude here) taking my space. Not to mention invading my personal space. And then there's the matter of hygiene or lack there of. Airlines should really be doing what you are suggesting here.

Re: Weigh more, pay more: Argument for charging obese people higher flying fares

#28

Post by vacri »

nasmorn wrote: post #21
vacri wrote: post #15

Yet, in terms of the airplane’s fuel consumption, it is all the same whether the extra weight is baggage or body fat. ... because as we all know, there is no cost whatsoever in handling large amounts of luggage. Which do you think would cost more: 100kg per person, with fat people who had little luggage, or 100kg per person, 50kg in person, and 50kg is excess luggage. As a tall man, I hate this stupid point. I can't…

Your point about luggage handling seems quite convincing. But i wonder how tall you are for setting your healthy lower weight limit at 110kg. I am 175cm at 70kg and I am not skinny. So allowing an extra cm per kilo you would have to be 210cm. Which is entirely possible.

I am 198cm high, but weight increases with the square of height (or something like that, can't recall exactly) - it's not linear. It's why it's not rare for a person of 5' height to weigh nearly half that of a person of 6' height.

I also have a fairly broad frame - skinny/narrow guys my height don't have the same weight issues. If I'm at 100kg, I look a little emaciated and at 95kg my gut is concave and you can count ribs - I know this because I had a nervous breakdown in my youth and these were the weights I hit these points at.

It's also one of the reasons I hate people applying the BMI to individuals - it's meant to describe populations, not individuals, despite popular misuse... but I should leave that hobby horse in the stable.

Re: Weigh more, pay more: Argument for charging obese people higher flying fares

#29

Post by vacri »

moonchrome wrote: post #19
vacri wrote: post #15

Yet, in terms of the airplane’s fuel consumption, it is all the same whether the extra weight is baggage or body fat. ... because as we all know, there is no cost whatsoever in handling large amounts of luggage. Which do you think would cost more: 100kg per person, with fat people who had little luggage, or 100kg per person, 50kg in person, and 50kg is excess luggage. As a tall man, I hate this stupid point. I can't…

>As a tall man, I hate this stupid point. I can't help the fact that I'm tall. I'm perhaps 10-15kg overweight, but if I go below 110kg, I am unhealthy. I already have to pay more to get a seat that doesn't screw me up - a seat that still doesn't fit me properly. Meanwhile Ms Slight Asian Woman is getting a much more comfortable seat. She's getting a better service for the same price. Well even you admit that you requ…

I think you missed my point. I am paying extra for a bulkhead seat that still does not fit me as well as a standard seat for the 'light person' - I get a worse service for more money. Then the guy in the article says I should pay even more, simply to appease his sense of misplaced righteousness.

Re: Weigh more, pay more: Argument for charging obese people higher flying fares

#30

Post by daeken »

kylec wrote: post #26

I can't wait for passenger rail to take off in the US. The weight of the passengers is virtually inconsequential - CSX has advertized that they can transport 1 ton of freight 436 miles on a single gallon of diesel fuel. Obviously people aren't freight, but even if it ends up being 10x that amount of passengers, that's still pennies for an increased cost if someone is overweight or obese.

I'm in the US and way overweight even by American standards, and I take the train everywhere. I'm in NYC and I can easily go to Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, DC, or even Toronto via Amtrak. Certainly takes longer than a plane, but the comfort is worth it for me. If only there were trains to Europe.
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