The Boulder Daily Camera recently reported (1/5/12) that “The Dover (Delaware) International Speedway, at the behest of its ever-widening fan base, says it will increase the width of its seats by four inches. Hey, it was either that or take gravy off the concession menus.”
While there is a humorous side to the comment, there commentary about the fattening of America is less than entertaining.
Out of curiosity I conducted a quick and dirty search of seat widths.
Airlines – The seats on most domestic economy flights are 16.5″ to 18″, whereas first class seats are 19.5″ to 23″. Some international airlines have seats up to 36″ width in the first class section.
Carolina Panthers (Bank of America Stadium) – The stadium seat widths are 19 inches for lower and upper level seating and 21 inches for club level seating.
New England Patriots (Gillette Stadium) All seats are 19-21 inches wide with arm rests and cup holders.
New York (Met Life Stadium) – Stadium seat widths range from 19 to 22 inches with seat width upgrades from the old stadium at every level of the new stadium. Leg room is increased by 1 to 5 inches.
New York Yankees (Yankee Stadium) Seat width has been increased from 18″ to 22″ to 19″ to 24″ in the new stadium.
Performing Arts – the Wall Street Journal published an article quoting data from Theater Projects Consultants. It stated that standard seat width was 18″ in the late 19th century, 20″ in the 1990s, and 23″ in the 2010.
Princeton (Princeton Stadium) Lower bowl and upper grandstands are aluminum bench seating, with a seat width of 18 inches
University of Michigan (Michigan Stadium) – In response to a stadium renovation program, their website stated, “Almost all seats in the bowl will be widened to some degree. Ticketholders will gain between a quarter of an inch and just over an inch in each seat, depending on where they sit. Seats along the sideline areas will gain the most width because of the shape of the bowl. When the project is completed, seat widths will range from just over 16 inches in the student section to just under 18 inches along the sidelines near the top of the bowl.”
At the same time, I conducted a quick and dirty search on the size of Americans. The results were what I expected, but not what I wanted to hear.
In October 2004, the CDC National Center for Health Statistics released the report, Mean Body Weight, Height, and Body Mass Index (BMI) 1960-2002: United States that stated “Adult men and women are roughly an inch taller than they were in 1960, but are nearly 25 pounds heavier on average as well. The average height of a man aged 20-74 years increased from just over 5’8″ in 1960 to 5’9½” in 2002, while the average height of a woman the same age increased from slightly over 5’3″ 1960 to 5’4″ in 2002. Meanwhile, the average weight for men aged 20-74 years rose dramatically from 166.3 pounds in 1960 to 191 pounds in 2002, while the average weight for women the same age increased from 140.2 pounds in 1960 to 164.3 pounds in 2002.”
In November 2007 Gallup released survey results that stated, “Two-thirds of Americans report that their actual weight is more than their ideal weight, although for many, the difference between actual and ideal is only 10 pounds or less. But 30% of women and 18% of men say their current weight is more than 20 pounds more than their ideal weight. The average American today weighs 17 pounds above what he or she considers to be ideal, with women reporting a bigger difference between actual and ideal than men.
In November 2011, Gallup released an addition report that said, “American men, on average, say they weigh 196 pounds and women say they weigh 160 pounds. Both figures are nearly 20 pounds higher than the average that men and women reported in 1990. As Americans’ actual weight has increased, so has their ideal weight.”
In November 2011 CDC reported, “Estimates of age-adjusted rates of leisure-time physical inactivity ranged from 10.1% to 43.0%. The regions with high rates of leisure time physical inactivity are the South and Appalachia, which also have high rates of diagnosed diabetes and obesity. In Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Tennessee physical inactivity rates are 29.2% or greater for more than 70% of counties.States where physical inactivity rates are 23.2% or lower in more than 70% of counties are California, Colorado, Hawaii, Minnesota, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington.”
So what does this mean? Americans are becoming more plump. The implications extend beyond the size of stadium seats to obesity, diabetes, and other medical conditions. It is time to eat correctly and get out and exercise! The costs of these conditions to society are significant.
Sources for seat width
http://www.seatguru.com/
http://www.panthers.com/stadium/facts.html
http://www.gillettestadium.com/stadium_information/index.cfm?ac=quick_facts
http://www.metlifestadium.com/3_about_faqs03.php
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/nyy/ballpark/new_stadium_comparison.jsp
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703580104575361281784399058.html
http://www.princetontigersfootball.com
http://www.umich.edu/stadium/faq/
Sources for body weight
http://www.cdc.gov/media/pressrel/r041027.htm
http://www.gallup.com/poll/102919/average-american-weighs-pounds-more-than-ideal.aspx
http://www.gallup.com/poll/150947/Self-Reported-Weight-Nearly-Pounds-1990.aspx
http://www.cdc.gov/features/dsphysicalinactivity/