[jcizzle]

I've been saying this for awhile, not because of fuel prices but because of comfort. It is rude for an overweight person to spill into adjacent seats.

Just like it is rude for overweight people to drive up the cost of health care because they refuse to take care of their own bodies.

It's a touchy subject, but I think we have a lot to gain as a society by telling people it's not OK to be lazy and fat, instead of silently judging them. (Save yourself the "Some people can't help it!" argument. No one is buying that the 33.8% of obese Americans fall into that category - it's a choice for them.)

[raganwald]

No one is buying that the 33.8% of obese Americans fall into that category - it's a choice for them

I buy that many or most or nearly all obese Americans have made lifestyle choices you find repugnant, but I don’t buy that they all do. And for that reason, I do not go around making blanket statements like “It is rude for overweight people to drive up the cost of health care because they refuse to take care of their own bodies.” Some--maybe many--overweight people make choices about their bodies, but some do not.

Furthermore, I know many overweight people who make dietary choices I disagree with but who are also very hard-working in their chosen fields. Your suggestion that overweight people are “lazy and fat” is unsupported. Some are sedentary, some are not.

Overall, I find that your arguments are unsound. But that being said, I don’t think you’re trying to be cogent here, your use of terms like “rude” and “refuse to take care of their own bodies” and “lazy” sets a tone that depicts every obese American as being at odds with you.

To pe perfectly candid, the conversation we are having reminds me strongly of many conversations around discrimination, stereotyping, and bias. Which is unfortunate.

[jcizzle]

In one statement, you say that not all people make a choice about their bodies and in the next you say that people are sometimes sedentary because they work so hard in their field. Well - that's the choice. They choose to spend all of their time working and none of their time exercising.

Working hard at your job is great, but a lot of that is habit and it is easier to do every day than breaking that habit and introducing an exercise routine. The definition of being lazy, to me, is taking the easy way out, thus I personally find this behavior lazy.

Discrimination? Stereotyping? Bias? Yes, yes and yes. I would definitely prefer a healthy person to a non-healthy person in any business or social endeavor. (Unless it was a hot dog eating contest.) Yes, I stereotype obese people to be lazy, over-eaters, inactive and sedentary. I don't see anything wrong with this. I prefer to hold people accountable for their actions. If this upsets them, they can either lose weight or bear my bias. The only win-win is for them to lose weight.

[corin_]

I'm very overweight, but not so much that I spill over on a plane seat - yeah, it annoys me when sat next to someone like that.

As to health care, as a smoker in the UK I already contribute much more to the NHS through tobacco taxes than an average smoker will cost in extra health care issues - and I would fully support unhealthy foods being taxed much more heavily.

That said, where do you draw the line? It's not OK to ride a motorbike because it's more dangerous than driving a car or using public transport? It's not OK to play football?

[kaybe]

Additionally, smokers will, on average, die sooner and cost less in pensions. [1] [2] (The study is kind of.. morbid in it's conclusions, and even stranger is that the tobacco industry endorsed it.) I've been looking for a similar study on overweight, but couldn't find any as of now.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Finance_Balance_of_Smoki...

[2] http://web.archive.org/web/20011105203845/http://tobaccofree...

[Drbble]

Do you have any evidence for the extraordinary claim that one fat American causes increased health care costs for a skinny American. Take into account overall life expectancy, variable insurance rates, and fit people that fall off mountains and get hurt playing sports.

[jcizzle]

Yes, google "obesity health care costs" and read the first 10 or so articles. PBS did a special on it as well.

[grecy]

I always think back to the discussion in supersizeme when they're talking about how it's now socially acceptable to heckle smokers in public, and wonder when it will be the same for obese people.