Imagine waking up early to get to the airport on time, standing on a ridiculously long line to check your bag, and an even longer line to get through security just to board your 16-hour flight. As soon as you sit down at your seat the first thing you want to do is get comfortable and perhaps some sleep after an exhausting process. However, a flight attendant informs you that a passenger is uncomfortable because you cannot quite fit into a single standard seat. Since it is a full flight and there are no other available seats for you to purchase you must exit the plane. Would this upset you or would you understand your fellow passenger is uncomfortable and exit quietly?.
Airplanes are becoming fuller; flights are becoming more expensive, and obesity is now an epidemic especially in America. In fact, obesity is officially classified as a disease by the American Medical Association. Since an airline can accommodate a handicapped person by allowing them an aisle chair or a seat with greater legroom free of charge, why can an airline not accommodate for an obese person instead of charging extra fees? Airlines should acknowledge obesity as a medical condition, adjust the size of seats, and change the policies regarding obese passengers.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "More than one-third (34.9% or 78.6 million) of U.S. adults are obese." Obesity is when one's body weight is 20% or more above normal weight or a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more. Overweight is when one's body weight is 10-20% higher than normal or a BMI of 25-30. According to researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine, "BMI is an inaccurate measure of body fat content and does not take into account muscle mass, bone density, overall body composition, and racial and sex differences." Since the scale to classify obesity is erroneous there is no accurate way to classify an individual.
