by Dolf

Created on: April 25, 2009

America has become a nation of overweight, sedentary people. While there may be those individuals that are obese due to a genetic condition, the remainder of the overweight people are that way because they choose to be. While it may be better to live in a country where one of the problems one faces each day is that there is too much to eat, it doesn't follow that one has to over-eat.

There is a huge cost attached to obesity. Do not forget that overweight adults and children cause a strain on the already beleagured health care system. Over-eating may cause high blood pressure, heart problems, gastric difficulties, knee, hip, and joint pain.

In fairness, some obese individuals over eat due to psychological problems. Yet, even mental problems such as depression and medicating oneself with food, do not mean that over weight individuals are not intelligent enough to see the damage they are causing to their health and sadly (in many cases) to their children's health and well being. In America there is plently of help for obesity as well as many, many books on nutrition and healthy eating and dieting. Even the government requires appropriate nutrition information be put on the labels of purchased food at markets and on restaurant menus.

While obese individuals should never be ridiculed or made the brunt of jokes, they still need to be held accountable for their weight and issues that may arise when they travel. Take for instance airline seating. Coach seating on many airlines is cramped for anyone let alone an obese individual. Long flights can be torturous if a person is seated next to an individual who literally pours over the arm rest and into the seat next to them. It makes it uncomfortable for the over weight person and the person next to them or worse, those on either side of them.

Since there is a genetic component to some types of obesity, the airlines should have a mandate to make a few seats on their flights large enough to accommodate obese individuals. It is a surprise that they haven't been made to to this under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Those seats should only be sold to individuals that are overweight and whom will not fit into a regular seat. The price shouldn't be any more than for any other coach seat. However, once those seats have been sold, obese individuals should be required to purchase two (or in rare cases) three seats to accommodate themselves and avoid making fellow travelers uncomfortable. Of course, people being what they are, some

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