OMG...now that makes me want to measure my hips...I wasn't going to get involved in this debate, but to me it's bullshit to charge people more on the basis of weight, unless they also charge less on the basis of weight. It's hypocritical and capitalistic. Why not recognise that the average size of North Americans has increased over the past 50 years - in height as well as girth - and build the seats accordingly? It's a fucking commercial service - they have customers, not prisoners. Start selling to US, not to some fantastical vision of what they think we should be.

You know something interesting? In many Canadian governments, we no longer refer to people as clients or patients or registrants; we call them "customers", and we have codes of conduct based on how we will treat them. This even includes "involuntary" customers like inmates and taxpayers. Jeez...the public sector leading the private sector on public service? What is the world coming to?

Okay, I'm out of the debate...just had to say that about measuring my hips and then I got carried away...

^Money basically. If they make the seats bigger, you won't get as many people on the plane. My guess is that's their main reason for not doing so, as there's certainly demand. The way they're doing things now, charging for 2 seats, they don't lose money the way they would reducing the number of passngers. You can only make the plane so big, and carry so much weight.

Everything boils down to money where the majority of businesses are concerned. few put other things first.

They should have at least some bigger seats, say 1 1/2 seat size, that you book in advance to ensure you get one. Charging wise though, I don't know, to some extent they have to hav a weight limit and charge you above it, same as they do with baggage. Plus there's safety issues.

People will complain whateever you do though really. You can rarely keep everyone happy.

Yes. This was one of my points in my post. I did just mention the weight factor but in time we have increased in size not just in weight, but other ways instead.

Also, I hate that you now have the desire to measure your hips. There is no need to, really.

now seriously this is wrong but then again at one point the airlines were going to charge obese people for two seats. So I'm just thinking that people are just trying to scam overweight people for their money.. Even the Government is trying to puto penalties on people for being overweight.. They want a slimmer nation. I've seen so much in the news lately about it.

I think this pedicure situation could be filed as discrimination.. you know but who knows.

Tall people aren't required to take these seats, though...


What about people who have genetic predispositions toward expensive health conditions? What about people with extremely unhealthy lifestyles that predispose them to be ill, but who have normal weights? My feelings aren't as strong about the rest of the points on your list, but I feel VERY VERY strongly that size should not be a factor when charging for health insurance. I think our culture already focuses way too much on size instead of overall health. Charging more based on size instead of focusing on lifestyle choices would only make that problem worse.

Also, obesity is common in economically disadvantaged populations (which have less access to healthy food, less money for healthy food, less leisure time to spend exercising...etc etc etc). Charging them more for health care would cause more problems, not solve the existing ones.