It is unlikely that all these people are going to lose all the weight in the next few years, though. The librarian reading a book won't change that. Her suggestions are for the current reality, not the fantasy of what the world should be like.

What happened to the research from a few years back that linked obesity with a virus?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infectobesity

This doesn't reject the high carb theory, but it may not be the sugars alone.

Librarian lady needs to do herself some readin'!

There is no evidence that librarian lady doesn't know this already. She is arguing in favor of accommodating her customers as they are now and likely will be for the near future. Sounds like a good policy to me.

Bricks and Mortar libraries are going the way of video rental stores. Just another tax payer boondoggle.

They are organizations in search of a mission, unfairly competing with the private sector.

No need to accommodate the obese or the handicapped. They can get themselves an e reader. For example, my 88 year old mother doesn't have the strength to spend a couple of hours browsing through the stacks anyway, why the heck would she want to waste her time in the library when I can send any book she wants to her Kindle?

I haven't walked into my public library in over five years. It doesn't cater to my tastes, and it is a 15 mile round trip. The money I would spend on the round trip is money better spent on Amazon.

The day that I have to be taken out of a building in the freight elevator, just shoot me.

She sort of has a point about the drinking fountains, though. I'm not obese but I do drink a lot of water. (Not because the government tells me to -- because I'm thirsty!) Drinking fountains used to be something that people put some thought into: about the proper height and angle to project the water for drinking, designing the catch basin to prevent splashing, and making it drain efficiently so it doesn't smell. Lots of older fountains had handy accessories like cup fillers. And a lot of them had interesting design and looked cool. And the water was cold! Nowdays, you go to a driking fountain, and you're likely to find a dirty, corroded thing where the water comes out about 1" above the nozzle, tastes bad because of the plumbing materials used, is lukewarm, and the catch basin is half full of poured-out coffee because the teeny tiny drain tube is always stopped up.

"I personally can work up a sweat by just standing still for an extended period of time."

So many things one could say to this, so little space...

I recall a Mad magazine cartoon from WAY back. It showed a sequence of historical cases of lean-n-hungry peoples toppling fat-n-soft empires, barbarian warrior and Roman senator, American colonist and British redcoat, etc. The fat-n-soft peoples were drawn like bobo dolls, rolling on their bottoms, with tiny vestigial arms and legs. The punchline in the final panel was a communist Chinese soldier pushing over a fat and helpless Uncle Sam. This was back in the 1970s, and a satire of our Cold-War-era political arrogance and complacency. But I am reminded almost daily of this thing, utterly horrified that the joke is becoming a very literal reality.

Oh, help me Rhonda. Lady, if you're going to talk about toilets and sweating and not being easy to embarrass when you need a different chair, what's with this "generous proportions" bullshit? What's wrong with being upfront and just saying "I'M FAT, okay?"

I'm not trying to trash fat people. I'm fat, too. I come from a family of fatsos. Not as fat as this woman, apparently, as I've never had a problem with library chairs or toilets. Or airplane seats, for that matter. But fat, yeah. Only without the cutesy euphemisms.

Anyway...Sure, a library that wants to keep its patrons these days will try to find a way to accommodate them, within reason. It just depends on who gets to decide what is within reason. And within the budget.

How about this lady spread the wonders of a low-carb, wheat-free diet instead? It's much simpler, and it costs the taxpayers much less money.

Believe me, I am somewhat overweight myself, but I'm down a net of 20 pounds from when I started going wheat-free last year, and, frankly, I don't feel like rewarding gluttony with taxpayer-financed furniture renovations (one of the other commentators mentioned taxpayer-financing above).

But, since I inevitably will be funding this ongoing slide into diet degeneracy, I might as well look on the bright side and enjoy the roomier chairs on my next trip to my local library, whenever that may be.

And don't think I'm singling out fat people, either. I'm also pointing the finger at all those people who recommended a diet including "healthy, whole grains." You all should be the ones who finance these up-sized renovations, not me.

I dunno. Frankly, for most of the obese people I know, I have no sympathy at all.

Just one example: A cousin of mine was in town a while back, and we agreed to go to lunch. We also needed to run some errand or other, just across the street from the restaurant. So I park at the shop, we do our errand, and then - without thinking anything about it, I walk across the street to the restaurant.

About half-way there, I realize that my (obese) cousin in panting in distress. I ask if she's ok, and she says "I haven't (pant) walked (pant) this far (pant) in ages". We're talking maybe 50 or 60 yards. Once we are there, she packs away a huge meal.

In my experience, the vast majority of obese people are obese because they don't exercise and can't keep food out of their mouths. Our society is already set up to encourage this kind of behavior. Why should we support even more measures to encourage it? Make it *more* unpleasant to be obese, not less.

This is not a PC opinion.

They should just install treadmills in the libraries.

For the article, it doesn't matter how people got fat or why they do not lose weight. No more than it matters how people in wheelchairs got that way, and do not [yet] have prostheses to allow doing away with wheelchairs.

Disabled-access regulations are relatively (seventy years?) new, and until government building codes required things like handrails in toilet cubicles were seldom installed or even thought of other than in hospitals.

And why not do some of these things? Heck, the "water fountain" in the medical-practice building I go to has not been useable for at least six years! At least, not without actually putting you mouth on it to get the dribble it offers - which is actively dangerous.

And toilet-paper dispensers - even for normal people, why are they not installed a bit to the fore of the toilet, rather than almost all requiring contortions to reach behind one's back?

Isab: I'm going to the mall this weekend - even though amazon exists.

I like libraries, they are the physical embodiment of NPR. Especially this time of year. Put on a cable knit sweater and take a trip to the library, perfect. But I know what you're saying, there are definitely more efficient ways of delivering their utility.

"They should just install treadmills in the libraries." You laugh but in all seriousness, once I convert our office to VDI we are going to install a stand-up work station that people can rotate into during the day. I joked about putting a treadmill at the foot of it, I think the proponents liked my idea. They spend part of the day sitting at their desks on a yoga ball as it is so I don't think they get that they are living a pitch-perfect SNL commercial.

Skinny people looooove inconveniently-placed TP. Especially when we have to rotate our torso to reach it and the magic eye flushes on us. The American version of the bidet.

This has become a serious problem in medicine. CT scanners which can "only" accommodate people up to 450 pounds are being replaced, at great cost, by ones that go up to 650. Radiation therapy tables have to be replaced since they can't hold the weight of many patients. The list goes on and on.

for most of the obese people I know, I have no sympathy at all

What I notice is that they eat constantly...they're eating in front of the TV, in the middle of the night, and when they're on the phone. You can hear them munching.

But they'll deny it because they know overeating is Bad, and intention is everything. Sayin's as good as doin'.

"Isab: I'm going to the mall this weekend - even though amazon exists."

You see, I don't go to the mall either. Don't find looking at a bunch of crap I have no need for very entertaining.

If the prices and selection were not discouraging enough, the big "no guns" sign at the front entrance is enough to keep me away.

I don't walk into self declared shooting galleries.

"What I notice is that they eat constantly." Oh, really? Spend a lot of time with "them" in the middle of the night?

Years ago, when I was on Nutrisystem in California and watching every bite, I noticed that PEOPLE ate constantly. Not just "they". The women I worked with (slim, perfectly tailored women) brought in food every day for birthdays or for holidays or for nothing.

Went on frozen yogurt runs. Went on taco runs. Had a lunch wagon that came in twice a day. Had the "Charles' Chips" guy that they waited for. On one occasion, my boss took us all out to the Stockton Grape Festival or some damn thing simply to get "fair food".

I don't know how they did it. Maybe they were all binge/purgers, or had the metabolism of hummingbirds, or ate nothing when they weren't at work, I don't know. Very irritating, though.

The whole situation makes me sad. How pathetic are we, as a country? Ugh.

I think that when a NEW public building is constructed, it should be made fully accessible to the mobility impaired from the get-go. I'm not a big fan of retro-fitting older buildings, unless it's a cheap and easy fix.

I read something interesting about the flora of the gut being vastly different in fat people than in thin. And what you eat makes one or the other more likely to proliferate. Garlic, onions, and asparagus made the thin bacteria flourish. That's all that stuck with me. I think it was on yahoo?

Libraries are like the military, a useless drag on the productive sectors of society.

Everyone buy your own e-reader and fighter plane and just ... be ready and stuff.

What I notice is that they eat constantly...they're eating in front of the TV, in the middle of the night, and when they're on the phone. You can hear them munching.

That's called grazing. People on a modern American diet, which is full of wheat products, are on a constant insulin-blood sugar roller coaster that keeps making them hungry. (The wheat and other carbs cause the roller coaster.)

My problem with this is not about how or why people get fat or whose fault it is. It's the assumption that the library is responsible for *your* problem.
I'm not exactly healthy, courtesy of years of alcohol abuse and smoking. I'm better now than I was and functional, but I have some lingering physical impairments that will never go away - minor balance problems, shaking hands, brief muscle spasms, shortness of breath, that sort of thing. Makes climbing stairs or ladders a bit tricky, and I prefer typing to writing even for simple notes. Forget running, my lungs, knees, and ankles will rebel at that.

BUT - I never expect anyone to go out of their way to accommodate me. It was my own stupid fault and I take full responsibility for my condition. You learn to compensate over time. I work in construction (engineer fortunately, *not* on the tools which I wouldn't be physically capable of doing) and it just means I have to concentrate when walking around site or climbing ladders. Occasionally I will ask someone to go check something out for me to make it easier, but if I have to do it I will - just means I take it very carefully and ignore the laughter (usually good-natured, I work with awesome people) while I carefully place one hand higher on the the ladder, check my grip, raise next foot, etc.

So some advice for the fatties in libraries - if it's hard to reach the toilet paper, take it off the fucking holder before you sit down and hold it on your lap. If it can't be removed bring your own. Bring your own water if that's an issue. If you're likely to need medical assistance, look up the fucking numbers before you go. *Don't* stand on the step stool, if you need help just ask. The world is not there to look after you. I don't care how you got fat, or whether it can be fixed, or whether it's your fault. Reality is what it is, and it's your job to compensate for it.

In short, take some fucking responsibility for your not so serious condition. Really disabled people (wheelchairs, advanced Parkinson's, MS, or others) do this. They're used to checking ahead and organising things like special taxis, having a companion, or whatever. Learn from them.

Here endeth the lesson!

She does have a valid point about accommodation in the future. But the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has fuck ups in it that don't have any bearing on reality.

Such as a storefront shop "cheek-to-cheek" with another. So if they want to want to add in a ramp straight out front the ramp interferes with the sidewalk. So then they have the room to build it sideways, but the width to the door means that the ramp is 3° too steep so then they are in violation of the ADA.

There are many small business owners that never dared make a change because of the ADA.

I can support a suggestion of a change, but it must be voluntary or suggested solutions, not mandatory.

The problem with the fed is that they think they can make a law that applies to everyone and it works for everyone.

"She does have a valid point about accommodation in the future."

No, she doesn't. For a relatively minor disability, the kind I work around every day, fuck 'em and the horse they rode in on.

Your points about the stupidity and inflexibility of the ADA make sense Jim P, but don't give a free pass to people who could look after themselves if need be.

When I was a child, going to the library to pick out three books was the highlight to my week.

As a teenager, if I was ever bored, I could go to the library. If I needed to do a research paper, again, I just headed to the library. It was always there for me.

I moved to Texas and headed to the library only to find it closed! You have to work around the libraries limited hours here, so by and large, I quit going.

When my children were little, I went back because I was eager to rekindle the library tradition.

Ugh. It was horrible. It was filled with stories about little African American kids or kids with disabilities, or kids with gay parents. I would love to see all kinds of characters in stories, but the story needs to be the driving force, not a political agenda.

I wanted Dr. Seuss, Eric Carl, Aesop's Fables, and E.B White. I wanted stories that every-one can relate to. They were Always checked out. I did drive to the ghetto to find a much better selection. The horrible books were purchased with a special diversity Grant but the library didn't have enough funding to purchase the really good, high demand high quality books.

I quit going. That special experience has been ruined by funding cuts and the diversity police. Why save something that I don't even care about anymore? And really, that is sad. I always thought of the library like free education, a cornerstone of equality; an opportunity for people to educate themselves and attain a higher station in life. That doesn't work when it's only open during normal working hours and you have to come in already knowing what you want and make a reservation for it.

Ugh. It was horrible. It was filled with stories about little African American kids or kids with disabilities, or kids with gay parents. I would love to see all kinds of characters in stories, but the story needs to be the driving force, not a political agenda.
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Would you mind explaining just what was WRONG with the literary quality of those particular stories? A few titles would help.

Michele Landsberg (Canadian journalist & feminist critic, born in 1939) wrote a book in the mid-1980s called "Reading for the Love of It." It's aimed at children's parents. Personally, I thought it was a bit smug - IIRC, she didn't consider the problems faced by parents who never learned to enjoy reading themselves and who now had to get their kids to read books without pictures for fun - but she did write a very good criticism of Judy Blume's books as "bibliotherapy." Quote: "What may indeed corrupt the children ... is not Blume's frankness, but her bland and unquestioning acceptance of majority values, of conformity, consumerism, materialism, unbounded narcissism, and flat, sloppy, ungrammatical, inexpressive speech."

In my experience, BTW, the annoying thing about libraries is that they're cluttered with best-sellers, period. People do NOT necessarily want to borrow old books just because they're loved by the critics and are still in print, so they often get discarded - and even in library sales, you're more likely to find junk than not.

I'll have to go back and look at the selections. I quit going about 15 years ago.

What was wrong was that they were one note books about an issue.

I happen to be reading an incredible book right now about a disabled child who is brilliant, but is all but locked in her body and (at this point) unable to communicate. It is written by Corretta Scott King award winner, Sharon Draper.

I have not had the same experiences that this little character has had, but it is written in such a way that I am mesmerized, as are my students. They can truly empathize with a disabled character through this book.

For what it's worth, I truly hated the Dick and Jane books and the Berenstain Bears books. They hold a place in the hearts of many, but they are too preachy and stilted for me.

Your points about the stupidity and inflexibility of the ADA make sense Jim P, but don't give a free pass to people who could look after themselves if need be. -- Ltw at September 28, 2013 3:52 AM

There is a difference between the demands of stupid government regulation i.e. ADA, and the idea of reasonable accommodation.

There is also a difference between reasonable accommodation and making people work overly hard to just be close to normal.

I understand that you realize that you fucked yourself up. But the kid that was born with cerebral palsy and has been in a wheelchair all their life never had the choice. They have to overcome their disability every day.

Why make them work overly hard?

CP or similar, yes, reasonable accommodation is good - whatever can be done. You seem to have missed my point. It has nothing to do with fault. It has to do with whether the world should shape itself around you when you're capable of looking after yourself.

There is a big difference between severe disability and the minor inconvenience of not being able to reach the toilet roll.

For what it's worth, I truly hated the Dick and Jane books and the Berenstain Bears books. They hold a place in the hearts of many, but they are too preachy and stilted for me.
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Thankfully, no one ever bought ME D&J books....

And oddly, the BB books written BEFORE 1971 - the preschool books in rhyme or the ones with few or no sentences - are distinctly better than the later ones, written in prose and aimed at older kids. I'm lucky I never read those either, as a kid. (I still love the older ones.) Only problem is, even in 1967, the Berenstains were starting their painful trend of portraying adult males as dolts. (See "The Bear Scouts.") I don't know if other children's writers were doing that already, but it IS a big problem nowadays in general. Not to mention other media, such as "The Simpsons"........

BTW, while all little kids probably get to read Dr. Seuss - as did I - my baby-boomer mother never read his books to me; she considered his drawing style to be "vulgar." (She felt the same way about Hilary Knight's drawings of Eloise, IIRC.)

Humor tangent to the CT scanners to fit 650 pound people: Two years ago in the hospital I had a patient who was (at the time) just under 500 pounds. She was a frequent flyer, meaning whenever her family wanted to go on vacation they would dump her at the hospital with the complaint of mysterious "abdominal pain". They knew full well that if they did this on a Friday, the radiology department took off at 5:00 pm Friday and only ran with a skeleton crew performing scans only by emergency order until Monday at 0800. Then it took four days to get all the scans done to rule out everything so we wouldn't get sued. She would be discharged on Thursday. They saved the $2500 it would have cost putting her in respite care at a nursing home. This particular time she came in, there was a new hospitalist working. He had a friend who was a veterinarian at Brookfield Zoo down in Chicago who was willing to scan her in the large animal CT/MRI equipment. She refused. Said it was beneath her dignity. And as always, once her family came back in town, her "pain" disappeared.

Last time I saw her was my last day at the hospital, December 22. She was 545 pounds. It was the week of Christmas. Her family dumped her to go on Christmas vacay without her. Depressing as all hell.