On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicted that 42% of Americans could be overweight by 2030.Our expanding waistlines lead to not only a medical problem, but according to a recent article in The New York Times, it could also endanger personal safety in some situations-in an airplane crash, for example. The New York Times' Christine Negroni reports that engineers and scientists are questioning whether airplane seats are adequately constructed to protect overweight travelers. Government standards for airplane seat strength -first set more than 60 years ago---require that the seats be made for a passenger weighing 170 pounds(77kg).Today, the average American man weighs nearly 194 pounds(88kg) and the average woman 165 pounds(75kg).Negroni reports: "If a heavier person completely fills a seat ,the seat is not likely to behave as intended during a crash,"Robert Salzar,the leading scientist at the Center for Applied Biomechanics at the University of Virginia. "The energy absorption(,) that is built into the aircraft seat is likely to be overpowered and the passengers will not be protected properly". "Nor would the injury be limited to that passenger only," Dr. Salzar said. "If a seat or a seat belt fails,"he said, "those people who are seated nearby could be endangered from the uncontrolled movements of the passenger." Most complaints about airplane seats focus on their lack of comfort and high ticket price, and whether overweight passengers should be made to buy two seats. But The New York Times' article bring up another reason to feel anxious about flying. Investigators of the issue got in touch with the airplane seat and seat belt makers, but they refused to comment on the problem.Experts agreed that crash testing should be done with overweight dummies .Both airplane seats and seat belts should be tested, _ said. Fortunately, however, according to Nora Marshall, a senior adviser at the National Transportation Safety Board, the board's investigators have never seen an accident involving a commercial plane in which the weight of a passenger was a problem. What is the article in The New York Times mainly conceerned with?
The size of airplane seats and seat belts Safety of overweight airplane passengers Airplane crashes involving commercial planes A medical problem caused by being overweight