Southwest tells woman, mother they are 'too fat to fly' (MSNBC)

[KDawg]

You're generalizing. I know many over weight people that work and many "in-shape" people that sit around all day.

Lazy has different definitions.

[Bang]

Well let me try again.

We know for a fact that obesity is strongly determined by genetic imprint. Different people store fat differently. One person can remain thin with little to no effort while another person must work extremely hard to remain at a healthy weight. In we lived in an environment with scarce resources, the person who more easily stores fat would be healthy with less effort while the person who doesn't retain fat well would require more effort to remain healthy.

Clearly, a fat person can not be assumed to be lazy.

I agree, it's a generalization, and when i was a kid every once in a while we'd meet someone who had what we were told (as kids) was a gland problem. Hereditary, whatever.

But there's so many people that are so big now,, and i mean SO big,, that excuse doesn't fly for 95% of them.

If it was in our genetic makeup, then we'd have had this obesity problem in the past too.

It's because we eat garbage, for one, and most of the people i know who subsist on garbage eat it because it requires no preparation (and often no dishes.). It's not because it's cheap anymore, because it most certainly is not.

I'm not thin. I'm not obese either. I've got a bit of a middle age paunch, but not as much as I used to. I can look down and see all my parts that exist below my navel. (Couldn't say that in the past) I do play a lot of tennis, so I'd consider myself active, and that is why I am able to not be obese.

Because if I didn't, I would be. I sit all day. I eat my fair share of garbage. Pizza,, give it to me.. fried chicken,, pass it over. Burgers and fries... you name it. Beer,, oh yes please.

That stuff tastes good and most of the time the reason it becomes so attractive for lunch is because it requires no work. I order it, unwrap it, eat it, then feel like crap all afternoon. (Honestly, i tell my wife,, "next time i say I want a Big Mac, remind me of how i feel right now"... and in two months or so when I want another one she reminds me, and I say," meh, I don't care", and then two hours later I tell her again, etc. etc. etc.)

I would say without any science to back it up that probably 70% of the outright monstrously obese people in the US put themselves in this position with no help from genetics or anything.

And I'd feel pretty confident in that.

It's a problem in this country, a big one. It needs to be looked at and it needs to be handled. Frankly, we would not allow any other disease or health risk to affect so many of our society. (Probably we allow this because it's not contagious.)

~Bang

[#98QBKiller]

I would say without any science to back it up that probably 70% of the outright monstrously obese people in the US put themselves in this position with no help from genetics or anything.

And I'd feel pretty confident in that.

Scientists can't agree on how much genetics play a role in obesity, but they do agree that a "favorable environment" is necessary. The genetic makeup of a human being doesn't change enough in a couple of generations to take the blame for the obesity epidemic in the world today.

This is a Barnum & Bailey freak show fat man circa 1900:

http://thespineline.blogspot.com/2010/04/unbelievable-fat-man-circa-1900-normal.html

You could walk into a Wal Mart or McDonald's and find someone this size in a matter of minutes today.

Genetics probably play a significant role for a portion of society but what plays a larger role is an abundance of unhealthy food and a sedentary lifestyle. But IMO, a lack of physical activity is the most critical factor in today's obesity problem.

When I was in elementary school we ate like ****. The lunchroom served burgers, pizza, fries, cookies, etc. But as soon as I got home I did my homework and went out and played basketball/football/kickball/dodgeball/etc. with most of the other kids until it got dark. The ones who didn't come out and play stayed inside and watched tv or played nintendo and most of them are the ones who packed on the pounds and ballooned up.

Technology is moving faster than the evolution of our bodies. The human body is still wired like it was when we had to hunt our own food. It's designed for physical activity. It's not a coincidence that when someone engages in physical activity that they feel better, mentally and physically. It's what we're wired for.

[SkinInsite]

It's no surprise the children of the world gets fatter when westernization of diet and lifestyle invade their native countries.

Just look at China, the obesity rate is raising just as the KFC, Pizza Huts, and McDonald restaurants.

[Boss_Hogg]

Drag you from burning wreckage?

Damn.... I can't even get any peanuts.

Contrary to popular belief, the stewards and stewardesses are on board for your safety first. The small bag of pretzels come second.

[NavyDave]

This is inappropriate.

There's no comparison between the two. Overweight folks CAN lose weight. For some it may be harder than others. But that's called hard work and dedication and will power. You have to have it.

True and most Black people love their permanent tan, being born with rhythm, and walking with a limp. The dizziness from major blood lost after being aroused is a pain though.

However there are some fat lazy black people cough Albert Haynesworth.

---------- Post added May-17th-2011 at 10:36 AM ----------

Really, I guess if you want to make the argument about morbidly obese people, we should make the same argument about drug addicts and alcoholics.

That it is not a disease and that change is within their control. And that they are less deserving of sympathy and more deserving of scorn and ridicule.

.

The three are not diseases they are weaknesses, the place where I would make an exception is when pharmaceutical companies sell medicine that is highly addictive to alleviate chronic pain, but even then with enough willpower you can quit cold turkey.

[MassSkinsFan]

All I could think of when I read this article was "Too Fat to ****" by Blowfly.

Great song!

[zoony]

The three are not diseases they are weaknesses, the place where I would make an exception is when pharmaceutical companies sell medicine that is highly addictive to alleviate chronic pain, but even then with enough willpower you can quit cold turkey.

Of course you would, as a Rush supporter

[Corcaigh]

Really, I guess if you want to make the argument about morbidly obese people, we should make the same argument about drug addicts and alcoholics.

That it is not a disease and that change is within their control. And that they are less deserving of sympathy and more deserving of scorn and ridicule.

Personally, I don't necessarily have a problem with that. As a society I think we've gotten dangerously far away from personal accountability.

I'd include people who are bad at calculus in the group that deserves scorn and ridicule. Lazy, stupid ****ers.

[Conn]

Yea i totally agree. I have never been on a plane before but i sure as hell wouldn't want to spend all that money for a seat and have the person next to me taking up half of it.

Wow, I genuinely find that interesting. I doubt there are droves of 26-year-olds out there who've never flown before.

[Pick6]

Well let me try again.

We know for a fact that obesity is strongly determined by genetic imprint. Different people store fat differently. One person can remain thin with little to no effort while another person must work extremely hard to remain at a healthy weight. In we lived in an environment with scarce resources, the person who more easily stores fat would be healthy with less effort while the person who doesn't retain fat well would require more effort to remain healthy.

Clearly, a fat person can not be assumed to be lazy.

I think you are missing the point between overweight and obese. These women are obese, along with tons of Americans, based on them be lazy for not doing the right things. Genetics or not, if you doing the right things you can keep yourself in shape and would never be asked to pay for two seats.

[Riggo-toni]

I know fat people who don't drink soda and are very active. On the other hand, I know thinner people who eat unhealthy foods and live sedentary lifestyles.

We know for a fact that obesity is strongly determined by genetic imprint. Different people store fat differently. One person can remain thin with little to no effort while another person must work extremely hard to remain at a healthy weight.

And yet Americans, the most genetically diverse nation on earth, have an outrageously disproportionate share of obese people, and the rate has increased exponentially over the last 40 years. Not buying your argument at all.

Yes, there are plenty of people with unhealthy eating habits and sedentary lifestyles who remain thin - there are also people who smoke regularly and don't develop lung cancer...so perhaps lung cancer is not really determined so much by smoking as it is just strongly determined by genetic imprint.

The woman in the video essentially admitted her own culpability for her condition when she stated she had recently lost over 100 pounds. No doubt had she adopted such habits at the first signs of obesity she never would be in such a condition.

I have Type II diabetes, even though I weigh only 160 lbs, and have never been obese. I stick to a strict diet, avoiding refined carbs, sugars, and saturated fats. My diet consists almost entirely of poultry, fish, veggies and fruits, so I have no more sympathy for people who can't adhere to a healthy diet than say, people who can't put down a crack pipe. I don't want to be stuck in a seat next to someone that large for 6 hours anymore than I'd want to be stuck next to someone smoking.

[mardi gras skin]

And yet Americans, the most genetically diverse nation on earth, have an outrageously disproportionate share of obese people, and the rate has increased exponentially over the last 40 years. Not buying your argument at all.

My argument was against the assertion that fat=lazy. I was fine with everything posted until that point but the simplistic assertion that fat people are lazy is clearly not true. You can not ignore economic/genetic/sociological factors that have nothing to do with the laziness or diligence of a particular individual. This is the same trap my racist father in law falls into when he looks around him and sees that minorities in his area are poorer than whites and assumes they could just change their economic condition if they weren't so lazy. He did it, why don't they? Because black people are lazy. In both instances, it is a poorly reasoned argument.

Separately, it is clearly true that the vast majority of fat people in our country eat poorly and do not exercise enough. But you can not move from there to assert that they REASON they don't exercise or eat correctly is that they are lazy.

[Springfield]

The fact of the matter, when it comes to obesity, is that 95% of the obese people out there did it to themselves. They were probably helped along by their obese parents but they did it to themselves.

Yes, there are people out there that can't lose weight and are obese for a legitamate reason. The rest of them are lazy.

[kubstix]

Southwest is awesome. I don't feel bad for gamblers, why should I feel bad for obese people. They brought this upon themselves. No motivation whatsoever to go for a walk at night, do a few situps, some pushups, nothing. I'm sick and tired of going to the grocery store or any store and seeing them sitting in the middle of the parking lot blocking everyone so they can wait and get a parking spot 10 feet closer to the building because they are incredibly lazy. They need motivation to get back in shape, and it's a start. I'm also on the bandwagon of the USA being too politically correct all the time. Everything you say anymore is either discrimination or racist.

[Riggo-toni]

Separately, it is clearly true that the vast majority of fat people in our country eat poorly and do not exercise enough. But you can not move from there to assert that they REASON they don't exercise or eat correctly is that they are lazy.

Ah, ok. That I agree with. My apologies for perhaps overemphatically stating my case.

[mardi gras skin]

Ah, ok. That I agree with. My apologies for perhaps overemphatically stating my case.

You might be the most reasonable poster in the tailgate. If you misunderstood me, I didn't explain myself well.

[KDawg]

Ah, ok. That I agree with. My apologies for perhaps overemphatically stating my case.

Problem is, he's not seeing that I defined lazy differently... And by the way I defined it, it fits exactly what he said above. So he went on a tangent, and is continuing to do so while agreeing with me.

[mardi gras skin]

Problem is, he's not seeing that I defined lazy differently... And by the way I defined it, it fits exactly what he said above. So he went on a tangent, and is continuing to do so while agreeing with me.

The difference between us is that you believe the only reason a person would eat too much or fail to exercise property is laziness. I know that that laziness is not the only reason a person engages in unhealthy practices.

In other words, I reject your definition of laziness.

[KDawg]

The difference between us is that you believe the only reason a person would eat too much or fail to exercise property is laziness. I know that that laziness is not the only reason a person engages in unhealthy practices.

In other words, I reject your definition of laziness.

No. You don't understand my definition.

[mardi gras skin]

Yes. I assume fat people are lazy.

I do not believe the reason all fat people exercise or eat incorrectly is that they are lazy.

We disagree.

[zoony]

I do not believe the reason all fat people exercise or eat incorrectly is that they are lazy.

We disagree.

For me I think "fat" needs to be more clearly defined.

For many, especially middle aged folks, who work 50-60 hours a week, maintain a large property, and have kids and marriages, etc... there simply isn't time to hit the gym 4 days a week. And often food is grabbed on the go, which tends to be unhealthy. I would not characterize these people as lazy.

And I will actually take it a step further. I have held a lot of manual labor jobs in my life. 4 years of landscaping (glorified word for digging ditches and pushing wheelbarrows 10 hours a day in the heat). It was normal for us to have people show up, work a day or two, and never show up to work again. The lure to the job was the good pay ($7.50/hour. In the early 90s, this was incredibly good money). There was never any shortage of people showing up to work, but people who would stick with it were rare. Two summers it was me and the 3 foreman as the only ones who didn't quit.

And do you know who you could spot as being the guy 100% of the time as the guy to quit first? The muscle-bound gym guy. I wouldn't even characterize it as 9/10, or 99/100. It was 100%.

The guys you never wanted to bet against were the country boys with rounded physiques. Those guys would work anyone under the table. (this was Ohio in the 1990s, well before Mexican labor existed)

In my current role, though it's not a physical job, I've even had to deal with temps for various setups and events, etc. My theory continues to hold up over the years. It's always the muscle bound temp worker we don't invite back the next day or send home early. Because they are, without exception incredibly lazy. Funny how that works. I guess they're tired from working out all day or something.

of course I do realize this is all anecdotal, but I guess that's good enough for this thread based on what I've read.

Now, backing up again... the morbidly obese folks that people are referencing at Wal Mart? Yes, I think it is more than safe to say that they are lazy. Guess it comes back to the definition of "fat" for me

[No Excuses]

I was at union station grabbing something to eat quickly before heading to work. I'm at the food court and I see a morbidly obese lady order, practically every ****ing thing on the menu for Bojangles. The thing that pissed me off was that her kids, no more than 9 years old, were well on their way to becoming obese as well.

I don't care if you are fat, but please don't do it to your kids. It pissed me off so much because the kids can do absolutely nothing but grow up fat and unhealthy.

[Devastate]

There are some instances where fat is a chemical problem, but this crap for most people doesn't fly.. It's a choice to do what YOU know is good for you, or be fat.. It's fine you can make your choice but don't expect the rest of the world to fit your choices.. Grats to her for recognizing what she needs to do.. Soon she'll be able to fit in a plane seat.. Glad she is making the right choice.. Not stfu and pay for the extra seat until you're skinny

[Dallsux]

That is why the seats are bigger on busses.

They're used to John Madden's fat butt (as well as fat mouth).