Commentary

The cost of fat fliers

America is bulking up, and The extra weight caused airlines to spend $275 million to burn 350 million more gallons of fuel in 2000 just to carry the additional weight of Americans, the federal agency estimated in a recent issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Did the airlines really think their strategy of cutting the fat in other areas would work? Bulky magazines are gone. Metal forks and spoons have been replaced with plastic. Large carry-ons are being scrutinized and even heavy materials used in airplane seats are being replaced with plastic and other lightweight materials. Here’s the link: http://www.suntimes.com/output/health/cst-nws-fat05.html