Driving to work today I was listening to a radio show I and they were talking about whether fat people should be allowed to get a free seat on airplanes because they can’t fit in the normal seat. They have one guy on the show who is 400 pounds and he was saying that this should be allowed. The rest were against him and the callers had mixed views.
Airlines in Canada are dealing with this issue right now, trying to figure out how to carry out a ruling passed last January that requires them to accommodate disabled and obese passengers when they need an additional seat or an attendant to accompany them. The Canadian Transportation Agency ruled that airline carriers should charge all passengers the same fare and not make people pay extra when they need an extra seat for medical reasons. The Canadian Supreme Court decided not to hear the airline’s appeal so the decision stands and airlines must comply by January 10, 2009.
I admit, I have flown on some planes where it was uncomfortable for me. I have never needed an extra seat, but sometimes it was hard to squish into little planes while trying not to invade the space of my neighbors.
I feel like though if you absolutely need another seat you should pay for it. Tall people don’t get a free extra seat to stretch out their legs when they are crammed into little airplanes. So maybe obese people should just pay for that extra seat. Or at least half of the price. Or airlines should make passengers pay per weight like they do for baggage and anyone over a certain weight limit must pay extra. Or airlines should make adjustments and have a row or two of bigger seats that obese people can purchase.
But all this leaves me wondering: is obesity really a disability?
I am not someone that wants to discriminate against obese people, especially since I am obese according to my BMI. But I have trouble with labeling obesity as a disease.
I understand that once you reach a certain level of obesity you will be disabled from doing things. Your body won’t work as well as it should and you can’t do everything a normal sized healthy person can. But should obesity, something that is preventable and treatable, be considered a disease itself?
People that have other disabilities, say blindness for example, cannot eliminate their disability as easily as someone who is obese. Also, labeling obesity as a disease is almost an impossible thing to do. With so many people in varying stages of being overweight and obese, where does the disability begin? With a BMI of 40? With a weight minimum of 400 pounds? Even then, there are some people that weigh 400 pounds that don’t feel disabled and get around fine. Others at the same weight require scooters or other help to get around.
However, in the U.S., groups are lobbying for laws to prevent discrimination based on weight.
“There’s tons of research about it, documenting everything from employment discrimination – wages are lower – to health-care discrimination. People get terrible treatment from doctors. There are surveys of nurses saying they don’t want to touch fat people,” says Anna Kirkland, author of Fat Rights: Dilemmas of Difference and Personhood, and an assistant professor in women’s studies and political science at the University of Michigan.
There is discrimination against obese people in the work force. (Although that article uses the job of firefighters which I think is a terrible example. Firefighters have to be in shape to do their job and it is ridiculous to think an obese person would feel discriminated against because of that since firefighters work hard to make their bodies capable for the job.) People discriminate against obese people often thinking they are lazy, unable to exert self control, etc.
Would classifying obesity as a disease take the stigma away? Would discrimination against fat people vanish or even lessen?
I am obese. But I don’t feel disabled and wouldn’t want to be labeled as that. I don’t think it is a disease necessarily.
Perhaps clinical obesity is a disease. Perhaps obesity is more of an eating disorder like anorexia or bulimia (considering the eating habits of many obese people I agree with this more). Perhaps obesity is a disease in the same way alcoholism is a disease.
So what do you think? If you’re too big to fit into an airline seat, should you be allowed two for the price of one? Is obesity a disease?
Mixed feelings. I know how difficult it is to control your eating, but when it effects others such as riding in an airplane, seating at a sporting event/concert, I really feel mixed. If they’re using two seats, shouldn’t they pay for two??
Insurances and companies need to start taking a good look at weight and hopefully giving discounts to normal weight individuals.
TB–Milwaukee’s last blog post..Snacking to Snack
Personally, I don’t think of it as a disability. Sure, there are things that I can’t do now which I could do if I weren’t fat. However, I can walk, move around, go to work, etc without any problems. I do all of this at 400+ lbs.
I don’t blame anyone but myself for my obesity. There is no reason an airline should have to deal with my weight for free either. If I require a 2nd seat, then charge me for that seat. It’s not the airline’s fault I’m fat.
Also, as far as people collecting disability compensation because they are too fat just doesn’t fly with me either. I deal with fat issues on a daily basis and have no problems making it into work. Again, it’s not the tax payers fault or the fault of the employers.
Nobody seems to want to take responsibility for their actions anymore. They want to blame heredity or Ronald McDonald or Joe Camel for their problems.
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Do I think obese people should be given an extra seat? No. But I do think they should have the option to purchase one at a discounted rate. In most cases, not all, I think obeseity is more a result of poor health/eating habits. It’s a very fine and not well defined line.
TB: Some insurance companies do give better rates to healthy normal weight individuals. When I was looking for private insurance I came across several companies that would charge me more each month because of my weight.
Insurances and companies need to start taking a good look at weight and hopefully giving discounts to normal weight individuals.
I do hope you’re joking. If insurance companies start implementing weight based prejudice furthermore to what they already do, there will be the continued shift away from health as a contributing factor and towards WEIGHT. I am on the cusp of overweight/obese for my height, and yet I am fitter and healthier than many of my thin counterparts. Your suggestion unfairly discriminates against me, even though I am likely to be of lower risk than thinner, unhealthier people.
Blood pressure, blood sugar, and resting heart rate are better primary indicators of health. Not weight.
(sorr for hijacking, Mary, that comment really stung and I had to respond.)
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Marshy: Your comments, even those on other comments, are always welcome. You make great points too. The focus should be on health, not on numbers on a scale. The focus on numbers is a dumb thing since basic bmi (to determine obesity) is figured by height and weight which says bodybuilders and professional athletes are obese. Not so much.
I found your blog via Google while searching for alcoholism as a disease, thank you for posting ity A Disability? | A Merry Life!
No, I don’t think the airlines should have to give any kind of discount to people who need a 2nd seat. It’s preventable, treatable, and in nearly all cases, totally that person’s fault. What are we coming to as a country when this would even be a DISCUSSION?
Jenn: I agree with your points, but maybe not your attitude. This being a discussion is not a bad thing.
On a different note… I wonder, do you consider obesity to be someone’s fault if they are a child? with growing obesity rates in children are we going to blame them for their condition are if no one teaches them any better? As a society by teaching and supporting terrible habits we are encouraging obesity in children and then treating them like second class citizens for it. I think this deserves some consideration.