The spaces between the tables are so narrow that the path between them resembles a "death slalom". Chairs have too small seats, and their stiff rails stick into the body, leaving bloody bruises on it. Americans with obesity are rebelling: we are the same restaurant customers as other people and we want to feel comfortable there. Restaurateurs remain silent about the problem because they do not want their food to be associated with obesity.

Rebecca Alexander (31) works for a community organization in Oregon (USA). One day, to celebrate her promotion, she invited her boss and colleagues to lunch at a restaurant in Portland, Oregon. When the hostess led the entire group to the table they ordered, Rebecca, who wears a size 60, realized immediately that she would not be able to sit at it.

- I started to imagine myself sitting on a bench and trying to squeeze my body under the table top, even though I know the space is too small for me to fit in, Rebecca recalls. She did not want such a humiliation, so she asked for another table, but from the hostess she found out that there are no larger tables now. As a result, due to Rebecca's obesity, she and her guests had to wait for another table for half an hour standing.

Restaurant "minefield"

For Americans with obesity, restaurants have become a real "minefield". Chairs with too narrow seats and handrails leave bruises on their bodies, and eating is accompanied by the fear that a weak piece of furniture will not collapse under their weight. The implementation of the idea: "I will eat something in the city" becomes a challenge. Obese people often scour the internet, hoping that restaurants have posted pictures of their chairs, armchairs, benches and spaces between tables on their websites. Unfortunately, restaurant managers are not aware that obese customers will not sit comfortably, e.g. on a high bar stool with a curved back, and are not careful enough to warn customers who book a table by phone or online, which place will be most convenient for them.

"It's strange that not many restaurant employees are aware of this, although in my experience they are really nice once they figure out how difficult it is to get seated at the table," says Rebecca. - Restaurants would like to host Fr.more body mass, but inadvertently created a space that is not available to us.

"Big customer" is "difficult customer"?

People with obesity know that they are not easy customers, especially in small restaurants where space is scarce.

- Eating in public can be a psychological challenge for obese people as they understand that other guests are embedding their food choices, notes Jes Baker, 32, Tucson-based image and body language specialist in Arizona (USA). - But restaurants do not have to make obese people more difficult to eat in public, ignoring their physical features.

Baker, who wears a size 52, notes that physicality is a huge burden for an obese person. - And yet we are the same restaurant customers as others. We pay, so we want to feel comfortable there and be treated like other people, says Baker.

Bruce Sturgell (39), who runs the "Chubstr" cultural and clothing website, wears a size XXL or XXXL. - These are the smaller sizes of the big ones - he jokes. Bruce admits that when he enters the restaurant, he has a feeling that he will not feel comfortable there. - The body acceptance movement - body positiv - is at an early stage of development. You can see it in fashion and on TV, but not in restaurants, says Bruce.

Some American restaurants are skillful in dealing with "big customers". Adelaide Martin, owner of a family-run restaurant in New Orleans, says the idea is not to let obese customers feel that they may be a problem, while also figuring out how to accommodate them so that they feel at their best.

Equality not for everyone

This approach is rare among restaurateurs, although the American population with obesity continues to grow. A report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that in 2022 about 40 percent suffered from obesity. US residents.

- We're in a great cultural moment when people talk a lot about equality and inclusion, but those concepts don't include body size, says Cheryl Durst, 57, general manager of the International Interior Design Association.

Cheryl points out that social projects for people using public spaces take into account their physical characteristics, but not always their size. In her opinion, it's good that people think about adapting a space before they even build it, but they don't think about all aspects of adaptation.

Melany Robinson (45), founder of Polished Pig Media, a public relations agency specializing in providing services to companies in the industryFood, Food, Tourism and Hospitality says she has never heard of a restaurateur talking about how best to receive obese customers. "I think most of them are terrified of this," says Melany.

In order not only to eat comfortably …

To help obese Americans navigate public spaces, Rebecca Alexander has created a mobile application called AllGo that posts information about public places that are adapted or not adapted to the needs of obese people. - Our reviews come straight from the source. AllGo is made up of obese people who have visited a given place and want to share their comments with others - boast the application administrators.

The application, which is currently being tested in Portland, allows you to view and select a given public place (e.g. restaurant, theater, gym) based on data such as seat width, toilet space and other important parameters for people with a greater body weight. The company that prepared the application intends to extend its reach to other US cities. It also asks people reviewing the site to enter their … jeans size. Because what is available for a size 50 person may not be convenient for a size 60 person anymore.

AllGo already has many supporters, and they include, among others American size plus model Tess Holiday and Roxane Gay, author of the book "Hunger", which describes in detail what it is like to "go through the world" weighing over 200 kg.

- I wanted to enjoy these wonderful dishes in front of me, but all I thought was about aching thighs, chair rails cutting into my sides and how much longer I have to pretend everything is fine - yes Roxane recalls meeting friends in a restaurant.

Roxane willingly supports the development of the AllGo application. In her opinion, it opens the world to people with obesity, suggests where they are and where there are no friendly spaces for them. - I don't think restaurateurs even knew that they should adapt their premises to our needs - says Roxane.

Uncomfortable subject like a chair

Adapting eateries to the needs of obese customers is a topic that most restaurants do not like. Reason? They don't want to associate their food with obesity.

"Waffle House", a chain of restaurants employing over 2,000 employees, which was criticized for the menu with too caloric dishes, equipped its premises mainly with special "booths" - benches and tables fixed to them, but also provides chairs freestanding. The company does notcomments on his decisions in this area.

Some restaurant chains have introduced furniture that can be freely moved and wider benches and chairs that can support customers weighing up to 180 kg. Last year, the "Golden Corral" buffet chain changed the look of its 491 restaurants to a more spacious one. There is more space between the tables so that larger customers can move freely between them, and the stable chairs without handrails give the interior - as the company boasts - a more home-like character. The Taco Bell restaurants also no longer have tables bolted to the floor. There are, however, movable chairs with wide seats.

There are dining establishments in the US that meet the Americans with Disabilities Act compliance requirements, but are not designed to meet the needs of obese consumers. Because although American law recognizes that obesity in certain circumstances may be considered a disability, it is a completely new legislative area.

For a restaurant with its own chair

Americans with obesity have been trying to pay attention to their needs for many years. They do so through protests and legal actions, but these are still sporadic actions. Examples? In 1994, under pressure from the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, the Denny's restaurant chain agreed to provide space for obese people in its premises. In 2011, a stockbroker weighing about 130 kg sued the chain of restaurants "White Castle" for violating his rights resulting from his disability because he could not fit at their tables connected with benches into some kind of "booths" . As a result, the chain introduced free-standing chairs in the premises.

Peggy Howell, director of public relations at the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, admits that the organization has not been very successful in encouraging restaurateurs and food designers to listen to the needs of obese people. Peggy is 71 years old and weighs around 140 kg. When they go with their obese friends to their favorite restaurant in Las Vegas (where their organization is located) they bring their own comfortable chairs with them.

Are you fat? Eat outside.

For Drew Nieporent, for 30 years a New York restaurateur, it is very important to satisfy his "big" customers. - I am sensitive to their needs, because I used to weigh around 150 kg myself. Now I weigh around 100 kg, says Drew.

Another restaurateur, Danny Meyer, says that the size of customers is completely for eateriesa new aspect, but he tries to make obese customers feel welcome in his restaurants. In one of them, he dismantled bar stools after one of the "big" customers said they were not comfortable to sit on. He also expects his staff to respond quickly to the needs of obese people by showing them tables that are convenient for them.

But there are also opposite examples … Traci Armstrong (46) runs a catering company and her hobby is visiting the best restaurants in the USA. Losing weighs about 150 kg and when he flies by plane, he always reserves two airplane seats. One Christmas, she flew to Washington to visit the Pineapple and Pearls restaurant, which boasts 2 Michelin stars. When she got there, she realized that a place had been reserved for her on a high bar stool. Since Traci could not sit on it, he was offered a seat … outside or … in the restaurant next door. Traci refused and left the premises. - I felt humiliated - remembers Traci and since then she often reserves for herself … a table for 2 people, or warns the staff about her size. - I don't want to cause confusion - explains Traci.

You're fat - they'll put you in the back

Tommy Tomlinson, former columnist for The Charlotte Observer, relates how he once made an appointment with a friend in Manhattan for dinner. He searched the internet to find out about the restaurant's suitability for obese people - like him, but found nothing about it, so he came to the restaurant early to make sure there was a table that would fit him.

Tommy is assertive. He enters the restaurant and immediately asks for a comfortable table instead of a seat at the bar. Sometimes he leaves when he realizes that this is not a place that suits him. It happens, however, that even when the place looks adapted, it is seated somewhere far from the door, as he writes - "in Siberia". This happens too often to be considered a coincidence.

"I often think there is something telling about putting fat guys back somewhere where you can't see them," says Tommy. In his opinion, "a restaurant good for large customers" is less about the right chairs and more about the attitude of the staff. - About how emotionally you are perceived by the restaurant employee who leads you to the table. Does he see you as a human being, says Tomlinson.

How to get through the "maze of death"?

Alissa Sobo, who created the Ample website with Las Vegas public spaces tailored to the needs of obese people, advises restaurant owners to encourage their employees togently suggesting "large customers" a more comfortable table or chair without a handrail. "Anyone with obesity I know would consider it kindness, not an insult," says Alissa.

Relatives, friends and friends of obese people can also help them by choosing a place for a meeting, dinner, quick drink with a lot of space between tables and large comfortable chairs.

- If you see that the hostess is going to lead you through a veritable "maze of death" in which your every move will end up knocking a vase off every table along the way, ask her if there is a free table ahead - she explains Tracy Cox, an opera singer who has created a series of films with her opera friend Matthew Anchel. "Angry Fat People" - "Angry Fat People."

According to Tracy, the problem is much bigger than whether or not there are chairs without railings in restaurants. "The problem with the world not adapting to the needs of obese people stems from the fact that society has recognized that there is something wrong with us, that we have driven ourselves to obesity," says Tracy.

- I'm fat, but I deserve to eat at a restaurant and enjoy life like everyone else, concludes Tracy.

Based on: New York Times

Important

Poradnikzdrowie.pl supports safe treatment and a dignified life for people suffering from obesity. This article does not contain discriminatory and stigmatizing content for people suffering from obesity.

Category:

Obesity