On your feet – I’m obese!
The transport system in London is not renowned for being spacious, airy or comfortable. Neither is it known for being efficient, punctual or good value for money. It’s not all bad – I wish Rio’s subway network was as extensive as London’s – but it’s a constant source of complaint and discussion for Londoners.
London buses can get a little crowded
One perennial discussion centres on giving up your seat. If you travel between 8-10 in the morning or 5-7 in the evening you will have to stand most days. So when you manage to grab yourself a seat it can feel pretty good! Then you see a frail old guy, or a mother holding a child and you hop up to offer your seat right? …Right?!
Well yes, I think most of us do and (let’s be honest) we give ourselves a little mental pat on the back for being ‘a good person’ when we do it. In fact I find that it rather brightens my day, feeling that I’ve done something amazing for a helpless stranger in distress (keeping this little scene in my head allows me to really go to town on transforming myself into an urban transport hero).
But now let’s replay that situation, this time substituting the elderly person for a woman who appears to be pregnant. We are instantly transported into a panicky zone of fear and self-doubt. Is she pregnant or just plump? Do we stay sitting and risk leaving a pregnant lady standing just to avoid the danger of insulting someone who is a little plump? We scan the woman’s belongings, desperately hoping to catch a glimpse of “Your First Baby” or similar give-away evidence (though life is rarely that easy one us). We picture the awful possibility of what boils down to accusing a woman we don’t know of being fat in front of a bunch of other strangers. Shudder…
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| One solution from London Transport |
For some people it all gets too much and they simply get off the bus/train/subway! In fact this issue has been worrying UK commuters to such an extent that the BBC put together a little 7 step guide to help people distinguish a pregnant lady from someone who could do with losing a little pudge. I have to say though, I’m not sure that all these tips would help the confused commuter:
- Look for a waddling walk. Really? Pregnant women have this, but overweight women don’t?
- Look for a well defined, non-squishy bump. So we should poke the bump to check if it’s squishy? Hmmm, I think I’ll pass on that one…
Well here in Brazil we don’t have this problem because there’s no need to make the distinction!
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| That’s right, some seats should be given up for people who are holding babies, pregnant, elderly, wheelchair users or obese! |
Now I don’t want this to sound like an attempt to ridicule the obese. But I couldn’t help but chuckle when I first saw the diagram they use to depict an obese person. Here is a clearer version:
Do you look like this? Then this chairs for you…
I think obese people are given a really hard time and I’m sure there is often a strong genetic/medical reason behind their excess weight. I wonder how they would feel associating themselves with this image. I have never seen an obese person call someone out of a preferential chair but I guess it must happen occasionally. I would be very interested to see it as I suspect some people would really resent giving up their chair for someone with a weight problem. What do you think? Is it right that the obese should be placed in the same priority category as pregnant women and the elderly?
And as well as simply giving obese people the right to commandeer a standard chair, some subway stations now have specially designed, extra wide chairs:
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| This São Paulo’s Rei Momo (King of the Carnival – traditionally a tall, fat man) testing out new chairs for the obese. This guy is 140kg (308 pounds, 22 stone). |
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| Surely enough width here for the most ample behind. |
Now those are some big-ass chairs aren’t they? I guess making them this wide makes them future proof (who knows how far this obesity epidemic will go?). And, in the parlance of fast-food outlets, for regular sized people, these extra wide chairs leave room for two…
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| There’s more than one use for an supersized seat (Image) |
I can deal with the obese getting preferential treatment regarding seating assignments but geeks going out with cuties (last pic) is unacceptable! What is this world coming to?
Ha ha! C'mon Gritty, the latest research suggests there is a strong genetic causal link to the Geekoid condition. ;)
Love it – this really made me laugh out loud!
The last picture reminded me of the "double" seats that were provided in the back row of cinemas in the old days – for the couples who were not primarily interested in the films on show.
Tom,
Here is my point of view. I think these seats are meant to protect the rest of us "the non obese" from being smashed by the obese in regular seating.
I have had my share of obese people numbing my arms in flights within the US. Not an easy situation.
So, this is a great lesson in civility from Brazil, and I can almost asure you the people who thought this out where worried in protecting the rest of us from having obese people crushing us in regular sitting. ;)
Ray
Tom,
Geekoid sure does seem to be genetic. All my geeky buddies had/have geeky parents.
Regarding the obese I agree with the current policy because their skeletons have to carry a heavy load and this overwhelms the heart. If we were to require each obese person to prove that their weight problem is genetic the bureaucracy to oversee this would cost more than the seats. Plus the poor chubster would probably suffer a heart attack waiting to get his obese validation card while waiting in one of the ten lines the process would end up requiring.
@Mum, glad you liked it :) I remember hearing about those double seats, but I'm not sure I've ever seen them in real life (and certainly never got to give them a try…
Hi Ray! Thanks for your comment – that really made me laugh! And you're right, I would NOT be happy if Rei Momo came squeezing down the aisle and installed himself in a normal sized chair next to me! Youch!
Gritty, if I sounded a little defensive it's because I've been working in IT for the last 11 years. However, I don't count myself as terminally geeky as I'm actually pretty bad at my job!
And my wife just made a really good point – for all the show of giving priority to the obese, you rarely see anyone *very* big on the buses here in Rio because the turnstiles are so narrow.
"Obese validation lines" – now there's an incentive to stay trim!
Hiya Tom
Strong genetic/medical reason or not, surely banning chubbers from the bus would be the best solution? Maybe the walk would do them good.
As for wondering whether a woman might be pregnant or just plain chubby, you could just be the chivalrous gent I know you to be a let her have the seat anyway. Problem solved. No panicking required.
Word of warning though, be wary of other passengers looking at with that, 'You brown nosing *$%£!' look.
Ha ha! I decided to tread carefully in my post so as not to offend anyone of the larger persuasion, but my commenters have not followed suit!
Shaun, I like the idea of taking the chivalrous angle, but if there are 8 other people standing, and I offer my seat to the rotund lady, I don't think she's gonna buy it (even if I lay my cloak down for her, Walter Raleigh style). It's a mine-field I tell you!
"Of the larger persuasion". Lol. Don't be such a brown noser :-)