What’s Better—Fat Shaming or a Plane Crash?

Authored By Joan Breibart

Apparently, the latter. Addison Shonland of Airinsight.com writes  in 2021 that 30 percent of Americans are obese. 

“ Thirty percent of adults 20 years of age and older (over 60 million people) are obese, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.  If you don’t think you’re going to like what’s coming, you best skip the rest of this story now. “

https://airinsight.com/the-pending-new-faa-weight-balance-rules.

Even the CDC says we 42% obese  (based on their  grading on a curve BMI where a 5’6” female is NOT obese at 186 pounds). Using the more accurate WHO waistline circumference measurement,  this number climbs to the mid 60s*.   If this seems high, maybe you are confined to a few zip codes ( 10021 or 90212),  legally blind or  are confusing MORBID Obesity with the garden variety  that is  ubiquitous.   However, the Morbid version is the fastest “growing” segment  now at 11% of women  and projected to rise  to 25%  by 2030.  

After Shonland read my proposed Op-Ed ( attached), we discussed the real obesity stats, but heonly wanted to defend his 30% figure. He did say the airlines are concerned about the estimatedpassenger weight and carry-on luggage that a pilot inputs into the computer prior to take off.   Flying Regional mid-sized and small planes   with less powerful engines is more risky given thedisproportionate impact of estimated passenger weights on these aircraft. According to the CDC, the average male weighs 198 pounds but the FAA uses 190 pounds with carry-on luggage allowance of  10 pounds. Those metal roll on suitcases are 10 pounds empty!

I have filed two FOIAs: one with the CDC and another with the US Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA has raised passenger weightsthree times in the past decade to accommodate our heavier bodies. Discussions on the need to weigh passengers are plentiful, but no one but ME will weigh in on a solution.

I hope you will contact me joan@pmiemail.com. This critical plane safety issue can be addressed without fat shaming. Reducing American waistlines may seem impossible  after  50 years of nutrition and exercise, but the real solution is very obvious. 

*Abdominal Obesity at 59.1% in 2017 rises to 65% in 2022 in tandem with BMI increase. https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n365