We are all aware that the Australian population is becoming more overweight, as are the populations of many other Western societies. So it was with great interest recently that I read how in Canada, court rulings have forced airlines to offer obese people two seats. The Canadian Transportation Agency has told airlines that they are discriminating against obese passengers by making them pay extra if they wish to have two seats. The new ruling means that obese people will now be charged only one fare but have access to 2 seats.

Whether you agree with this or not, that is not the issue. The main issue here is that obesity is becoming so common that it is now almost normal. Over half of the Australian population is considered overweight or obese. Therefore, when we talk about an average person, that average person is overweight. Unfortunately this is the category the majority of us now fit into.

The Canadian airline incident is not the first example of organisations being required to cater for the obese as obesity becomes more of a global crisis. In recent years the New South Wales ambulance service has been required to develop what they call the mega lift ambulances which are capable of dealing with patients who weigh greater than 180 kg.

Obesity has always been an issue in our society, unfortunately it is just becoming more and more common.