Another situation regarding Obesity

First let me say I am not prejudiced against anyone because of their weight. They are they way they are because of their own lifestyle choices and are well aware of their health risks.

I had a situation recently when I went to see a Broadway show. I thought that the seat on my right was going to be empty until a woman of about 300lbs or more came and sat next to me. She was pretty much spilling into my seat and I could not use the arm rest because her body was resting on top of it. My right shoulder was pretty much jammed up too so it was hard to move. To make matters a little worse she had some kind of strange odor emitting from her person which I got a whiff of every time she moved. I didn't say anything I just grinned and beared it and concentrated on the show. Should that woman have bought 2 seats or 3 with one being empty on her left and one empty on her right?

Sticky situation, because if she had been told to buy an extra ticket, she could turn around and claim discrimination and several human rights activists groups would have probably taken the theater to task for not having seats large enough to accommodate all body sizes.

But, IMO, yeah she should have bought two seats if her size is going to spill over onto the next.

I have to question the seats. My husband weighs 300 lbs and in movie theaters, even planes, I have no problem at all with invasion of space. Of course, he's likely taller than the woman mentioned in the broadway show.

A large of percentage of Americans are 'big' and have been growing in girth since the 80's. It isn't changing, and that's a long time for establishments, and the airlines, to assert that their seating is too cramped in general to accommodate (in planes, lack of leg space is my complaint and I'm not tall).

I really don't like people I don't know or have no desire to know touching me. So I don't know if I could have handled that. I'm surprised she didn't allow the empty seat to be between the two of you. Seems like that would have been more comfortable for her as well. I would have probably complained. Like Chris said something might have been made out of it but people have to be realistic. They can't make every seat 4 feet wide in order to accommodate every single person in the world. I'm as against discrimination as anyone but I think you have to be able to fit into the seat or pay for two.

LOL. The short answer is no. And this isn't me "lobbying for fat people's rights". It's common sense. One person, one ticket. It's a little ridiculous to ask for a weight requirement when purchasing concert or airline tickets. And to keep it one hundred, seats on planes, theaters, etc barely fit normal sized people. You always hear complaints of no head room, leg room, etc because they are designed to compact people together and that is uncomfortable in and of itself. Chances are, you'll be complaining about something else anyway. Now on the flipside, ostentatious accommodations shouldn't be made for people who are severely overweight. If her fat ass couldn't fit into the seat and it was making me that uncomfortable, I would've went to management and asked to be moved. If I couldn't be moved, I would've asked if she could be moved or if she could stand, put a chair out in the aisle so she could sit, something. If she couldn't be moved and I was that pressed, I would've been getting a refund....point blank. Her smell would've been bothering me more anyway. Fact is, the majority of America is overweight or obese....oh well. I'm sure overweight people don't need you to tell them that. And if their weight is becoming an issue for them and other people around them from enjoying the simplest things such as a concert, maybe if everywhere they went and people kept making an issue of it in public, it would motivate them to drop the weight. But to charge somebody extra money for a ticket JUST because they're fat isn't a good idea. You open the floodgates for charging people extra money JUST because of any and every little thing too.

They are they way they are because of their own lifestyle choices and are well aware of their health risks

Every time I see an statement like this I get just a wee bit annoyed.

I, like many other people, am overweight due to lifesaving drugs that mess with a person's metabolism but also saves their life.

I was slender all my life until I had to have chemotherapy with a maintenance drug that is used to keep me in this world. But unfortunately, in this world as an overweight person.

I do not overeat nor do I indulge in fattening, unhealthy foods, yet I am overweight by about 60 pounds or more. I usually don't spill over into other people's spaces but sometimes it is a close call.

Do I like being this way? No sir! Especially because I did not bring it upon myself by over-eating or from lack of exercise.

For those who judge every overweight person you see as being lazy or who choose to be that way by their "lifestyle" choices, just remember; it could happen to you!

Minerva wrote:


I, like many other people, am overweight due to lifesaving drugs that mess with a person's metabolism but also saves their life.

I know Prednisone is notorious for this. Risperdal too. And there are other metabolic issues that cause it as well.

Minerva wrote:

Every time I see an statement like this I get just a wee bit annoyed.

I, like many other people, am overweight due to lifesaving drugs that mess with a person's metabolism but also saves their life.

I was slender all my life until I had to have chemotherapy with a maintenance drug that is used to keep me in this world. But unfortunately, in this world as an overweight person.

I do not overeat nor do I indulge in fattening, unhealthy foods, yet I am overweight by about 60 pounds or more. I usually don't spill over into other people's spaces but sometimes it is a close call.

Do I like being this way? No sir! Especially because I did not bring it upon myself by over-eating or from lack of exercise.

For those who judge every overweight person you see as being lazy or who choose to be that way by their "lifestyle" choices, just remember; it could happen to you!

You are so right-on! And that DID happen to me! Meds inhibited my metabollism, plus I go through periods when flare-ups force me to get sedentary for awhile. I don't expect is to reach a point where we can't fit into a seat, and hopefully we won't. Although it might be kinda' fun to occupy a couple of TriMet seats to ourselves. LO!!!!!

Yes, Prednisone is my maintenance drug. Ugh!

I don't know. This walks the line of realism and discrimination. On the one hand, if you take up 2 seats you should get charged for it....but on the other hand, there's gotta be some other alternative....like having one of the people involved sit somewhere else. If there's no room, then lean up against the wall or sit on free standing chair.

People who are obese need to be upfront about things like this when they go to buy plane and concert tickets, so that some preparation can be made ahead of time.

Minerva wrote:

Every time I see an statement like this I get just a wee bit annoyed.

I, like many other people, am overweight due to lifesaving drugs that mess with a person's metabolism but also saves their life.

I was slender all my life until I had to have chemotherapy with a maintenance drug that is used to keep me in this world. But unfortunately, in this world as an overweight person.

I do not overeat nor do I indulge in fattening, unhealthy foods, yet I am overweight by about 60 pounds or more. I usually don't spill over into other people's spaces but sometimes it is a close call.

Do I like being this way? No sir! Especially because I did not bring it upon myself by over-eating or from lack of exercise.

For those who judge every overweight person you see as being lazy or who choose to be that way by their "lifestyle" choices, just remember; it could happen to you!

Minerva I apologize if what I said offended you. I have to admit that I am ignorant to the other ways that a person can become unintentionally overweight. I have a friend that is 200lbs overweight and I guess I was thinking about him because his weight problem is from overeating. Like I said above I am not prejudice against anyone for their weight and how much a person weighs would never have any bearing on how I feel about them.

Minerva wrote:

Every time I see an statement like this I get just a wee bit annoyed.

I, like many other people, am overweight due to lifesaving drugs that mess with a person's metabolism but also saves their life.

I was slender all my life until I had to have chemotherapy with a maintenance drug that is used to keep me in this world. But unfortunately, in this world as an overweight person.

I do not overeat nor do I indulge in fattening, unhealthy foods, yet I am overweight by about 60 pounds or more. I usually don't spill over into other people's spaces but sometimes it is a close call.

Do I like being this way? No sir! Especially because I did not bring it upon myself by over-eating or from lack of exercise.

For those who judge every overweight person you see as being lazy or who choose to be that way by their "lifestyle" choices, just remember; it could happen to you!

It is a shame that a lot of people believe if you're overweight you overeat or are simply lazy. I've seen patients who were seriously overweight,not because of lifestyle choices, but because as you've pointed out, medications and medical issues.

Being a nurse I'm empathetic towards a lot situations, but I will admit when I know someone is overweight when they don't need to be, my empathy sort of flies out the window.

Hey, Tony. You did not offend me. It's part of my dealing with the drastic change over which I have little control that I like to let people know that an overweight condition can be caused by actions other than over eating of eating the wrong foods and lack of exercise. Although I realize that is probably the main cause.

I just want people not to judge so readily. It never would have entered my mind when I was a slender person who could eat almost anything and then exercise it away that there was any other reason other than overindulgence.

No offense taken. We're good!

It's an interesting situation to be in. She IS one person, but I think the only way she should be charged two seats is if someone of a normal size literally could not fit into the seat next to her. That's only looking at it from a revenue standpoint. But even then, unless it's a sold out show, maybe there would be a way to move her to where she can let her girth hang into an unsold or broken seat, or maybe into the aisle. But to make it easier, I would have just asked to move or have my money back. You handled it better than I would.

Big folks know they're big, but maybe she didn't realize she wasn't going to fit. I'm willing to bet she was as uncomfortable as you were! She was probably thinking, "Aw shit, these seats are small as hell, and on top of that I didn't shower....I know I stink, I KNOW he smells me..." Ain't no point in making her feel worse.

Minerva wrote:Hey, Tony. You did not offend me. It's part of my dealing with the drastic change over which I have little control that I like to let people know that an overweight condition can be caused by actions other than over eating of eating the wrong foods and lack of exercise. Although I realize that is probably the main cause.

I just want people not to judge so readily. It never would have entered my mind when I was a slender person who could eat almost anything and then exercise it away that there was any other reason other than overindulgence.

No offense taken. We're good!