Morbidly Obese mother files complaint

BioMechHeretic

So lets say that plane seats are suddenly all the size of first class seats instead of coach. That cuts down the amount of passengers by 20%. Also cutting down the luggage and booking fees and ticket sales by 20%. WHich means airline prices will go up about 25% for everyone.

Are obese people going to pay the extra $100 every time I need to fly somewhere for business? I didn't think so.

Let them pay for 2 seats, because that's what they're taking up. You could apply this model to countless other industries all over the world.

Yes, let's discriminate against fat people because it's "cheaper".

No. Lets make people whos @$$ occupies 2 chairs, pay for 2 chairs.

Let's just put benches in airplanes and measure each person's rear end and charge by the square inches they take up on the bench. That'd save loads of money.

Your thoughts really aren't grounded in reality. Everything you suggest is going to be charging people MORE who are healthy and at a standard size for a HIGHLY strong percentage of the population. 150 people should not have to pay more money for their tickets because 3 people on the flight have let themselves get so massive they can't fit in a seat and therefore the whole plane capacity needs to be lowered 20% "just incase" someone large gets on. As someone else pointed out, should we also double the leg room for tall people? Should we provide separate rooms on the plane for people who are ultra sensitive to temperature? Should we provide private bathrooms in flight for each person because they have social anxiety? Holy **** while we're at it let's give each party that's flying their own personal 747 for every flight. And beforehand they can customize it so that the outlay and furniture is exactly what they would like to see and sit in on their flight.

No. Just no. Society determines an average(based off statistics) and mean numbers and then balances that with cost and determines seat size etc. This is the SAME thing when hospitals decide on bed and operating table and equipment size. There is no DISCRIMINATION. It isn't the world being a big mean place. It's how things have to work.

K_Serz

Why should other people have to pay MORE because they are at a healthy weight??? Then we would be punishing people at a healthy weight to accomodate people who "mostly", not all, put themselves in a certain position.

Realistically we actually do that with car insurance right now. Some are being rewarded money back if they are avoiding any insurance usage, but the premiums have already figured in the price based on location and possible accident with a driver with no insurance.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
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This is also being done with LIFE insurance. They take your height, weight and get your BMI. Even measure your waist and depending how large your waist is, you pay a higher premium. WHY? BECAUSE ITS TOTALLY DISCRIMINATION!!!! <- sarcasm

Its because statistically that person is a higher risk of heart disease, heart attack/stroke. But obviously some people CHOOSE to believe decisions are made based on being discriminated against and not Risk Factors.

SaraBrown12

So lets say that plane seats are suddenly all the size of first class seats instead of coach. That cuts down the amount of passengers by 20%. Also cutting down the luggage and booking fees and ticket sales by 20%. WHich means airline prices will go up about 25% for everyone.

Are obese people going to pay the extra $100 every time I need to fly somewhere for business? I didn't think so.

Let them pay for 2 seats, because that's what they're taking up. You could apply this model to countless other industries all over the world.

Yes, let's discriminate against fat people because it's "cheaper".

Umeboshi getting the feeling your a net troll looking to argue about everything. If a persons *kitten* takes 2 seats then they should pay for 2 seats. Common sense no??? If you take 2 snickers off a shelf u pay for 2. Or do you go to the counter and say.. well 1 is too small for me so i expect the 2nd 1 at your expense? Doubt it.. When the hospital sends out a "jumbulance" to an overweight patient is that discriminating too? If people are overweight they need to own it and accept the problems that come along with it. Afterall having to give an overweight person 2 seats at no extra cost will be discriminating against the average weight person who cannot board the plane in 1 seat or who has to pay a higher price to make up the short fall. Stop trying to play devils advocate and knock people down for having opinions.

garnetsms

It's okay to get fat or be fat or stay fat.

If this be the case, why are you here? I'm seriously curious...not judging or anything.

_Witsy_

I have no idea why people think fat people, no matter what, should have to kill themselves trying to be thin. I'm sick of hearing this sentiment.
It's okay to get fat or be fat or stay fat.

Absolutely. However...just like choosing to smoke, you choose any consequences that may come along. Considering many health risks are attributed to obesity, there are some things that come your way that you just don't like. That seems to be the part where there is a disconnect.

I'm overweight and I'm not writing Six Flags to make the seats on the rides bigger to accomodate me. That's unrealistic. Instead, I'll lose some weight and then visit their amusement parks with safety in mind. Not only are airplanes expensive in general, but there are weight requirements. I can't help but assume that the number of seats come into play with safety requirements and guidelines.

stephaniemejia1671

I think the mother's priority is fcuked up. She should focus more on her child and her health more so the doctor and him sending her to another hospital for HER BENEFIT. She clearly wants fame and money more than a healthy child and body. Take a hint lady and start to better yourself and stop playing the 'fat card' as someone posted earlier.

corn63

JuliaWomp

The point here is not the cause, it's that the doctor recognized that he could not provide the best care for her and did what was best for his patient. He probably lost out on the money she would have paid for his care, so how could anyone paint this as a selfish choice? He was putting the patient first.

However, I saw some stuff about blame and what causes obesity and particularly about thyroid issues, so I'm going to rave and rant a smidge:

The doctor shouldn't have lied and said something was policy when it isn't but the doctor always has a right to make his recommendation and its up to the lady if she wants to go with what he recommended or to make a bad choice. Obviously she was making bad choices already to get to 353 but its her body.

Not everyone who is fat made "bad choices" to get there. Thanks for playing.

Let me guess, you have a thyroid disorder that makes you fat and makes it impossible to lose weight? :noway:

This really hits close to home. If you are curious why, you can read my blog, http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/UsedToBeHusky.

The fact of the matter is, that not everyone is obese or morbidly obese because they made choices to be. This is the reason why fat tolerance, if nothing else, is an important social issue. Just because you can see that someone is obese, but you can't see why they are obese, does not mean that individual should be despised or treated without respsect. Honestly, regardless of anything, no one deserves to be treated with disrespect, and that is why the terms "fat acceptance" and "fat discrimination" have become buzz words in modern media. If you can look at a person, see their flaws, and then use those flaws as a reason to hate them, then you are discriminating against that individual, irregardless of your rationale behind it.

My mom has had major problems with her thryoid. I too have a condition which makes it hard to lose and makes it easier to gain. But that shouldn't be a copout. That doesn't justify being morbidly obese when most of the time, those people can lose weight, they just have to work harder and do things differently than a 'normal' person. I know medical issues happen but bad eating/exercise habits make up the majority.

I don't recommend or condone making fun of people for any reason but I don't think that people should be required to accept what *most* of the time, is a personal choice that DOES effect others. I don't hate fat people. I am one, my family is full of them but I don't agree with people who complain about their weight but do NOTHING to change it or don't take responsibility for it.

Thyroid disease should NOT be a cop-out. IT just means you have to take a tiny bit of extra care. My entire family has thyroid issues, except my mom. She's the only one who's overweight.
WHY? Because of the CHOICES that the rest of us make. My dad gets up at 5AM to lift and takes smaller portions of food. When they found out he had thyroid problems last year, the doctors were SHOCKED because he had literally NO thyroid at all, it was that bad (they said the worst they'd seen, maybe because nobody had thought to test his thyroid levels before), but he seemed to be rather more fit than most middle aged men. That was because of his CHOICES. Sure, the thyroid made it harder for him to maintain/lose weight. Sure, it did get marginally easier once he found the right meds and he got back to normal. But, even with full-blown undetected thyroid problems, he guarded his health and had the self control to maintain his weight (for the most part: he's 48 and has never weighed more than 30 pounds more than he did his 2nd year at West Point).
I weigh myself morning and night, then came on here to start tracking the second I was one pound overweight (I'm going to stay until I get down to and have maintained comfortably in the middle of normal for a bit.) I don't need medication, so it's all on my own.


Because of my experience with thyroid issues, I HATE when people suggest that one could be morbidly obese because of them. You could argue that most people's thyroid issues are worse than mine. I'll give you that. But you can't get worse than no thyroid whatsoever, like my dad has, and he's in better shape than me.
To be clear, thyroid issues suck. They make it harder. They can contribute to being slightly overweight. But thyroid problems alone will not make you morbidly obese without being backed up by bad choices. Not speaking for other health reasons, just thyroid.




PS this woman called herself "healthy" which implies she has no underlying issues that cause her obesity besides overeating. \

Manda86

Umeboshi getting the feeling your a net troll looking to argue about everything. If a persons *kitten* takes 2 seats then they should pay for 2 seats. Common sense no??? If you take 2 snickers off a shelf u pay for 2. Or do you go to the counter and say.. well 1 is too small for me so i expect the 2nd 1 at your expense? Doubt it.. When the hospital sends out a "jumbulance" to an overweight patient is that discriminating too? If people are overweight they need to own it and accept the problems that come along with it. Afterall having to give an overweight person 2 seats at no extra cost will be discriminating against the average weight person who cannot board the plane in 1 seat or who has to pay a higher price to make up the short fall. Stop trying to play devils advocate and knock people down for having opinions.

Ivey05131980

I think this is totally crazy! It's not like she was 600 lbs! I was VERY heavy during both of my deliveries and had no problems whatsoever...she had no other issues other than weight? I would feel the same way! :noway:

_Witsy_

I have no idea why people think fat people, no matter what, should have to kill themselves trying to be thin. I'm sick of hearing this sentiment.
It's okay to get fat or be fat or stay fat.

Absolutely. However...just like choosing to smoke, you choose any consequences that may come along. Considering many health risks are attributed to obesity, there are some things that come your way that you just don't like. That seems to be the part where there is a disconnect.

I'm overweight and I'm not writing Six Flags to make the seats on the rides bigger to accomodate me. That's unrealistic. Instead, I'll lose some weight and then visit their amusement parks with safety in mind. Not only are airplanes expensive in general, but there are weight requirements. I can't help but assume that the number of seats come into play with safety requirements and guidelines.

To take it a step further...amusement parks and air travel is not recommended for pregnant women in some cases...are they being discriminated against as well?

myofibril

I think the question that needs to be answered is "was the decision primarily made to medically preserve the best interests of the mother and child?"

That actually isn't clear and why the litigation is being pursued.

If the answer is yes then I do not have a problem with the way the doctor or the hospital acted.

If the answer proves to be no then I believe this to be an issue of discrimination (which encompasses "fat acceptance" within it) and the lady in question should secure damages.

corn63

I think this is totally crazy! It's not like she was 600 lbs! I was VERY heavy during both of my deliveries and had no problems whatsoever...she had no other issues other than weight? I would feel the same way! :noway:

fiferize

I work in a hospital and I agree with Bondbom. It's imparative for a Dr. to admit when he or the facility he/she works in is not equipped to handle the situation at hand. He made the right call policy or not.

UsedToBeHusky

I think the question that needs to be answered is "was the decision primarily made to medically preserve the best interests of the mother and child?"

That actually isn't clear and why the litigation is being pursued.

If the answer is yes then I do not have a problem with the way the doctor or the hospital acted.

If the answer proves to be no then I believe this to be an issue of discrimination (which encompasses "fat acceptance" within it) and the lady in question should secure damages.

:drinker: :smooched:

k8blujay2

It's okay to get fat or be fat or stay fat.

Until it starts affecting me... and yes, it can affect me... by me having to pay higher health insurance premiums... by not having adequate protection given to me by the police, fire, paramedics, military (which the Military is having a REALLY hard time right now finding healthy and fit people that are qualified to join as per their physical testing standards because our population has gotten so big, I'd imagine it's not much different among the civil levels of public protection as well)... While I am no way advocating that people starve themselves to be "thin" (which is often just as unhealthy as being "fat") or exercising multiple hours a day.... when a fairly large portion of society becomes fat and unhealthy (under many factors, not just our numbers) it affects us all in one way or another and whether people want to believe it or not.

vim_n_vigor

I think this is totally crazy! It's not like she was 600 lbs! I was VERY heavy during both of my deliveries and had no problems whatsoever...she had no other issues other than weight? I would feel the same way! :noway:

She did have other risks - her first delivery she had health problems that count in her risk factor for her second child. I had some issues in my first delivery that add to my risk rating for my third child almost 7 full years later. Weight is not the only concern for this woman.

bmqbonnie

You say obesity isn't a disease and isn't caused by bad choices, yet then you want to say that it's a body type or mostly caused by thyroid disease? Please.

It's not immoral to be inactive and eat too much, but then it also isn't immoral to smoke. Doesn't change the fact that it's bad for you.

Yes there are people out there that are overweight due to a thyroid problem or PCOS. They are a very small percentage of the overweight and obese and still doesn't automatically make you MORBIDLY obese. And there are many people on this very board that have overcome obstacles like thyroid or PCOS and still got down to at least a healthier weight. Maybe they won't ever look like a supermodel, but there is a huge difference between being a little fluffy and being 353 pounds. Plus the woman said herself she supposedly has no health issues other than obesity, so I doubt that she has any disease contributing to her obesity.

Numbers may be fine but the fact remains that should someone at that weight need a C section, they will need more drugs, more care and effort made into the surgery, and probably a bigger freaking operating table.

If you're happy with being morbidly obese, great, but if you don't fit into a plane seat you just don't fit into a plane seat. Suing the airline is not going to fix that.

I question why you're on this site if being obese is so dandy with you?

Thinking of fat people as lesser human beings is not okay, but neither is expecting special accommodations to magically appear when you are at an extreme size and then suing when you don't get it.

Are you having trouble with logic today? A significant number (someone quoted 16%) of people ARE fat because of a medical condition. Fat is a type of body. The fact that an illness can cause that doesn't change that.

Being inactive and eating "too much" isn't the cause of every fat person's fatness. Nice stereotyping, though.

Plane seats should be made to fit people of a variety of different sizes. Fat shouldn't be treated as "other", and fat people shouldn't be shamed into attempting to be thin for the sake of fitting into a plane seat.

Just because I personally am choosing to lose weight, doesn't mean fat is any less acceptable to me.

"Special Accommodations" .. there you go, marginalizing and categorizing fat as "other" again. All people should be accommodated. Not just thin.

16% of the general population have thyroid issues while 35.7% of the general population is obese (different from overweight, so include that and the number is much higher). Hmm. And again, it is pretty clear this woman does not have a thyroid issue. And even if she did, the hospital cannot accommodate someone of her size with her risks. It doesn't really matter how she got big, what matters is she is too big for the hospital to safely treat her. Similarly if I needed triple bypass surgery, the hospital that is down the street can't treat me, I would need to go to a hospital 2-4 hours away for my own safety. It isn't discriminatory toward people with major heart issues, it's just the way it is.

So current planes have seats that can accommodate the majority of passengers, lets' say up to 250 lbs or so. Let's say they take five seats out so that they can put two seats in that can accommodate passengers that weigh up to 400 lbs. What then if someone comes in and sues because they are one of the few that weigh 600+? Where does it end? Should plane tickets raise to the point where if someone needs two whole rows to themselves they can have it for the same price as everyone else?

Similarly someone may be deaf through no fault of their own, but it is just not possible to put an ASL intepreter everywhere they may possibly want to go (I had one person be angry that there was not one at the national park I worked at). To a point you have to just accept that you have a disability that makes life a little more difficult. That's why it's called a disability.

jen81uk

No, I think the doctor was within his rights, if genuine reasons and other places better equipped. She is two and a half of me, that means she is going to be like what i guess 70% plus fat, if no health probs now she's lucky but they will come! It annoys me when people of this weight have no fertility problems when I have friends considerably less who can't conceive but don't receive any help and are just told to lose weight!!

Manda86

I think this is totally crazy! It's not like she was 600 lbs! I was VERY heavy during both of my deliveries and had no problems whatsoever...she had no other issues other than weight? I would feel the same way! :noway:

Anecdotal evidence aside, being morbidly obese is an issue with pregnancy. With mothers that are morbidly obese, the risk for preeclampsia, shoulder dystocia, and other complications that have the possibility to end in fetal death, increase substantially.

It's not 'unfair', it's not 'mean', and because it didn't happen to you doesn't make it less of a truth.

It just IS.

Edited for better wording