The Daily Mail printed today that fat people were voted among the worst people to sit next to on a flight.

15% of respondents said that they didn’t like sitting next to fat people. To be brutally honest, I think that this percentage would be higher if people were more forthcoming with their honest opinions. We can all be rather impatient when we fly and our tolerance levels towards other people are likely to be far lower than usual. The poll also cited that people talking on their mobiles, those who recline their seats right back and swearing also ranked as highly annoying and rather rude.

What the article failed to mention was the percentage of respondents who resent being sat next to a ‘lively’ family. I don’t mind children but I don’t particularly like other people’s rude and badly behaved brats. Without wishing to sound like an old woman, when I was a child I sat down still and was quiet. I did not yell or scream in public and neither did my sisters. I have more patience with the elderly than I do with children who cannot/will not be quiet in public. My neighbours either side are both young families and I have been known to bang on the walls yelling at them to shut up because the toddlers have so many monumental tantrums that they distract me from my studies.

Would you want to sit next to him on a plane?

Back to the overweight, I can really see why this would be an issue on an economy class flight. The seats are small and the leg room is frankly, stingy. At 5ft 7″ tall I have a short body but stupidly long legs. It’s a curse, not a blessing I promise! I have to sit on the aisle seat so I can stretch my legs into the gangway when no one is walking past as I find it hard to stand on a plane. If an obese person is spilling over into my seat, this reduces my elbow room and makes me even more uncomfortable. Excuse my bluntness, but airplanes were not made with fatties in mind.

If you are overweight and a frequent flyer, is it time that you thought about losing some weight? Not only will YOU be more comfortable sitting in a seat that you fit in without having to request an extender for your seat belt, you will be at less of a risk of DVT and your fellow passengers will be more comfortable as well. It’s a win-win situation!