Weight-Loss Drugs Could Save US Airlines $580 Million Per Year 105
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the New York Times: Weight-loss drugs like Ozempic have transformed millions of lives with easily administered treatments and quick results. Now it turns out the dropped pounds may have a surprising perk for airlines, too: lower fuel costs, as slimmer passengers lighten their aircraft's loads.
According to a study published last week by Jefferies, a financial services firm, the four largest U.S. carriers -- American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines -- could together save as much as $580 million per year on fuel thanks to weight-loss drugs, known as GLP-1s. One in eight U.S. adults said they were taking a GLP-1 in a November survey published by KFF, a nonprofit health research group. Fuel is among airlines' largest expenses. The Jefferies study estimates that the four airlines will together consume 16 billion gallons of fuel in 2026 at a total cost of $38.6 billion, nearly 20 percent of their total expenses.
The savings from skinnier passengers would amount to just 1.5 percent of fuel costs. But airlines and pilots must scrutinize even the smallest changes to a plane's weight and balance, and a lighter payload means each jet burns less fuel to generate the thrust necessary to fly. Investors could also stand to benefit: The researchers estimated that a 2 percent reduction in aircraft weight could boost earnings per share by about 4 percent. "Please note savings are before any lost snack sales," the Jefferies analysts added.
According to a study published last week by Jefferies, a financial services firm, the four largest U.S. carriers -- American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines -- could together save as much as $580 million per year on fuel thanks to weight-loss drugs, known as GLP-1s. One in eight U.S. adults said they were taking a GLP-1 in a November survey published by KFF, a nonprofit health research group. Fuel is among airlines' largest expenses. The Jefferies study estimates that the four airlines will together consume 16 billion gallons of fuel in 2026 at a total cost of $38.6 billion, nearly 20 percent of their total expenses.
The savings from skinnier passengers would amount to just 1.5 percent of fuel costs. But airlines and pilots must scrutinize even the smallest changes to a plane's weight and balance, and a lighter payload means each jet burns less fuel to generate the thrust necessary to fly. Investors could also stand to benefit: The researchers estimated that a 2 percent reduction in aircraft weight could boost earnings per share by about 4 percent. "Please note savings are before any lost snack sales," the Jefferies analysts added.
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That already comes free of charge with the diabetes package. Rsilvergun got that deal, he can tell you all about it.
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repost (Score:1)
didn't we just see this a few days ago ?
ryanair may be the 1st to change an overweight fee (Score:3)
ryanair may be the 1st to change an overweight fee
Re:ryanair may be the 1st to change an overweight (Score:4, Informative)
Nope. [reuters.com]
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Nope. [reuters.com]
I think he means first mainstream airline... as in ones running jets almost exclusively.
And I doubt it. For all the faults of Ryanair's boss Michael O'leary, maths is not one of them. In fact he's quite good at running the numbers and making good decisions based on them, that's the basis of the LCC business model. He knows that such a system would cost far more than it would raise in revenue... And I mean cost in operation, not lost business... One of the other things O'leary knows is that his passengers
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They probably wouldn't be allowed to in Europe, the same way they can't charge extra for taking wheelchairs.
But ... (Score:2)
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Well, when they add a dedicated STS (Semaglutide Treatment Stage) to the plant we can add up the operating costs and figure it out. But until then I'd say you can estimate that at approximately zero.
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Nothing, really. These are peptide hormones, there's a reason they have to be taken intramuscularly, just like insulin, adrenaline, somatotropin, erythropoetin, and most other hormones you've probably never heard of. Typically, only steroid hormones like estrogen can the oral route reasonably intact in the absence of some kind of delivery agent. That's why when vegans start blabbering about bovine growth hormones, remind them that the brain needs creatine to help recycle adenosine diphosphate back into aden
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Conservation of mass. When you lose 100 lbs, there's only one way it's leaving your body.
Weight brackets ... (Score:2)
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Filipinos and Bangladeshis will make out well under this paradigm. Western caucasians not so much.
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Filipinos and Bangladeshis will make out well under this paradigm. Western caucasians not so much.
Fair is fair. It takes more fuel to move the over fed and over packed.
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Western caucasians not so much.
We Western caucasians can't be as svelte as black women and Latinas. And those Pacific Islanders can practically slip through the door gap.
Fatties are everywhere and in every culture.
That’s nothing (Score:5, Insightful)
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Make people shorter next! (Score:5, Funny)
What would REALLY save a lot of money is genetically modifying people to be 4 ft tall at maximum. We'd consume less food, have smaller houses, cars, roads...
We could keep a few tall people (maybe 50?) for sports and fetish porn and to act in movies as monsters.
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I don't think the technology is there yet, but it's not a bad idea. While you're genetically engineering short people, you could also engineer out obesity - not only removing the need for drugs but allowing them to eat six meals a day without gaining weight. If you can beef up the lungs, that should allow risk-free smoking. The real challenge is to strengthen the brain, in case of magic rings containing demons...
Re:Make people shorter next! (Score:4, Funny)
We should make them sturdier, with bigger feet. But they should be a little hairier too, because they'll get cold.
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Induce Laron syndrome (Score:2)
The technology is there. Knock out the growth hormone receptor and people end up with Laron syndrome [wikipedia.org], which causes short stature plus resistance to cancer and type II diabetes.
The law isn't. Countries send people to prison for 3 years [slashdot.org] for trying this sort of thing on human beings.
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Not surprising really. Laron Syndrome seems to have a number of other effects which are rather undesirable - "obesity, craniofacial abnormalities, micropenis, low blood sugar".
My comment was suggesting that we should create hobbits - who don't seem to have any obesity problems despite eating six meals a day, and also seem to have rather robust general health despite the low-tech environment and presumed lack of advanced medical treatment in the Shire. The substantial resistance to demon-possessed magic ring
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We've written songs about that:
Genesis - Get em out by friday:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
Re: Make people shorter next! (Score:2)
That film "downsizing" did not explore this matter that much, perhaps the original book was better.
Having smaller people in general would have those positive effects you pointed out, but I'm not sure if the military would approve.
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That film "downsizing" did not explore this matter that much, perhaps the original book was better.
Having smaller people in general would have those positive effects you pointed out, but I'm not sure if the military would approve.
Depends. It worked quite well in the tunnels in Viet Nam, where Americans had to break their backs to stoop/crawl while the defenders could swiftly run carrying supplies. And anyway, the future of war is armed drones, not gladiator bodies. The bigger the target, the easier to acquire and go boom.
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Shorter people make it possible to reduce seat pitch so you can stuff more of them in an airplane.
But some airlines are starting to demand passengers use the bathroom before boarding to save money as well.
Airlines will see no additional profit (Score:1)
Airlines are very price-competitive. Reductions in fuel costs will be used to lower prices, to attract more customers.. It's not likely that many of the dollars will end up in company annual profits.
History is littered with airlines that couldn't make a profit. TWA and Pan Am aren't around anymore; more efficient companies took their business.
Impact on climate change (Score:2)
Also consider the impact slimmer people have on climate. Weight-loss drugs like Ozempic can also have a dramatic effect greenhouse gas emissions as more people release lesser and lesser gas.
Scam? (Score:2)
I thought that so-called weight control pills were more of scam by the big pharma.
Are we sure this is not related?
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This is the second story about the "benefits" of Ozempic on Slashdot. Are these ads by big pharma, which are being inserted into the /. feed?
Yes, weight control pills are more of a scam and has side-effects such as thyroid tumors and cancer. But why would big pharma care?
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They aren't a scam, they are a solution to a scam - modern food is terrible, designed to make you consume, not keep you healthy.
They are available on the UK's NHS, and they would not be prescribed if they were not reasonably safe and the benefits greatly outweighed the risks. The NHS is state funded, there is no commercial motive to offer those drugs.
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They aren't a scam, they are a solution to a scam
They don't solve the scam. The processed food will still be terrible. But the scam is way deeper than that. There's also allowing the owning class to run off with all the money so that both people have to work and then they have less time to cook, therefore are more likely to buy the shit scam food.
The NHS is state funded, there is no commercial motive to offer those drugs.
Keeping the drugs around means not having to fix the food problem, so all those processed food corporations can continue to operate. Most people go off the drugs eventually and wind up fatter than they were befor
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" Most people go off the drugs eventually and wind up fatter than they were before..."
This is mostly speculation based on other forms of dieting; it is neither known nor is even the same issue.
My sister lost a lot of weight on Ozempic, then discontinued when she moved to a state that doesn't allow the injectable form. She has not regained the weight in a year. But then, "eventually" is open ended. Funny thing about aging, weight management becomes harder and harder.
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She will probably gain back at least two thirds of it. If not, congrats to her.
TBF what the studies actually show is that people who go off GLP-1 typically regain more weight than people who change their lifestyle and then change it back. e.g. to exercising regularly, and then to not. So it's not precisely what I said, consider this my retraction.
OTOH the drugs have potentially serious consequences and we probably don't even know what all of them are yet. Most people taking it for diabetes never stopped tak
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2026 is going to be interesting. I find myself agreeing with Drinkypoo [slashdot.org] both on something he says and the tone of how he says it. There's hope for /. yet!
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There is no "thyroid tumor" "side-effect" of Ozempic, there is a possible genetic sensitivity that must be screened for. And Ozempic isn't a "weight control pill", although there is an undesirable pill form for areas that don't allow injections.
It's good to see you are so well informed on the subject. Classic /.
"This is the second story about the "benefits" of Ozempic on Slashdot."
Why, that's what it is. We all love your salty tears.
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They kind of are. People stop taking them and they get fat all over again.
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Next you'll tell me that people with AIDS who stop talking ART suddenly get the symptoms and effects of AIDS again.
Or that people suffering from schizophrenia who stop taking their anti-schizophrenia medicine suffer the effects of schizophrenia again.
Or that people taking anti-hypertensives get hypertensive 'all over again.'
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Fatness can be cured by diet and exercise. AIDS, not so much.
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What is the success rate of this "cure"?
It's quite good [slashdot.org]
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Really poor because the dietary advice is very poor. The fact that exercise was mentioned and continues to be mentioned as a primary way to lose weight lets you know the person doesn't know what they're talking about. Exercise makes your poor nutrition even worse. That's completely ignoring the fact that you don't have the energy to exercise if your health is poor, so it's a non-starter anyway.
The best way to no longer to be fat is water-only fasting (means no food not no water). Ozempic only gets you h
So virtually no difference (Score:2)
That's less than 0.3% of their total expenses.
no thanks (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:no thanks (Score:4, Insightful)
Compared to what? There's quite a few side effects of being overweight as well including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, various cancers (like breast, colon, endometrial), osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, fatty liver disease, and mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, negatively affecting nearly every organ system and significantly lowering quality of life.
Yeah I'd take "possible thyroid tumours" thanks (if I actually were fat).
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And there is no known possibility of "thyroid tumours" for you if you are like the vast majority of the population. It's a genetic issue that is screened for. These are lies made by /. liars.
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Putin still paying for shitty comments like this? Hard to believe people will still chase this money after everyone in the world sees the result.
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Skip a few meals and jog your tubby ass around the block. You'll feel better and won't need injections from the people who brought you the scary covid vaccine.
Thanks for demonstrating your complete ignorance about weight.
By the way I'm neither overweight nor on injections, I'm fit and healthy. You too could be as awesome as me, you just need to be less of an ignorant arsehole.
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Just searched this Ozempic drug and the first side effect is: Possible thyroid tumors, including cancer.
Life is all about comparative risk. Obesity has HUGE risks.
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And there is no risk of this unless you are predisposed. If so, a doctor will NOT even prescribe it to you.
This is what you get when children, and those of similar emotional development, pretend to be experts online.
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The online sites giving you prescriptions for weightless drugs are not doing those checks.
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Re:no thanks (Score:4, Insightful)
You searched just enough to post an inflammatory comment then. Ozempic should not be taken by people with a predisposition for a particular kind of thyroid "tumor", that is well known and tested for. Ozempic is not known to cause "thyroid tumors, including cancer", although it could do so in YOU; that's a YOU problem and that's why doctors are used to regulate its application.
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What I Want To Know Is (Score:2)
1. Will they still serve people caloric drinks (and snacks)?
2. Will they give you free Wegovy in First Class?
Ozempic is 100% a product of Denmark (Score:2)
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No it is not. Ozempic is made by a Danish company, that doesn't mean it is "100%" made in Denmark. Ozempic is produced in the US as well, wonder where US demand is satisfied from?
But we will know those price increases are coming when the Trump family makes an investment in the competition. That's how we knew about fraudulent COVID treatments, Trump bought into those medications first, then SuperKendal and team stupid started repeating the lies. Haven't seen that here yet.
Trump and the family are clearly
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I bet the US-made side of it is 'made of US and foreign components', same as what's left of manufacturing in the US.
Mounjaro/Zepbound is made by Lilly (Score:2)
A significant price increase for semaglutide would drive more doctors to put their patients on Lilly's tirzepatide products: Mounjaro for type II diabetes or Zepbound for obesity. Eli Lilly and Company is an American company headquartered in my home state of Indiana.
Think of the children('s snacks)! (Score:2)
I'll bet it would be cheaper then (Score:2)
For airlines to hand out ozempic for free to everyone
Another dumb analysis... (Score:2)
price per pound (Score:2)
I can already see the advertising opportunity: This is your chance to visit Paris this fall, for only $4.99.
(per passenger pound, terms and conditions may apply, baggage will be priced independently, additional weight budget for seating, life vest and other emergency equipment, allotment for coffee, tea and water, and peanuts and the seatback pocket reading materials will be charged manditorily)
Miles for Ozempic (Score:2)
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Documentated since 2014 (Score:2)
The food industry has been fighting what was revealed by the book "The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet"
It details how bad science rose and so did obesity.
Finance is now looking at it... They're trimmed all the other fat.
Don't believe it (Score:2)
Sewer Savings (Score:2)
But what's the savings to the city sewer systems by not having to flush American-sized dumps?
Early prior art (Score:2)
new benefit (Score:2)
Maybe instead of miles, airilines should give away ozempic shots.
Easily the worst take (Score:2)
Re:that's one way to frame it (Score:4, Interesting)
There's an airline that flies to some pacific island that has an obesity problem and they weigh the passengers and charge them appropriately. This should be a standard operating procedure on all airlines if they wish to continue to reduce the side of passenger seating.
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but some 500 pound person can get a middle seat and make two people miserable.
Nope. Airlines have policies requiring passengers who can't fit in one seat (unable to buckle seatbelt, lower armrests, or stay within seat boundaries) to purchase an
extra seat.
I'm 6'4" and most seats don't have enough room for me to sit with my knees in front of me. With the headrest raised to its highest position, it barely reaches above my shoulder blades. Normally I would slouch in the seat so my neck has some support, but the narrow seat spacing prevents this. Should I get a discount for being give
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The poster you are replying to did not say that normal people should subsidize them. Try reading the whole post.
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They probably all do, but they're not all enforcing it. I can't recall the number of times I've been seated next to a passenger with blubber overflowing into my seat. It should have been obvious, right at check-in, this person isn't fit to fly by the airline's own policy but the ticket agents won't say anything because they're
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Don't many airlines charge for an extra seat if the passenger needs two to fit?
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This is politically incorrect but ultimately logical. I pay now to check an overnight bag (which I used to be able to carry-on), but some 500 pound person can get a middle seat and make two people miserable.
There's an airline that flies to some pacific island that has an obesity problem and they weigh the passengers and charge them appropriately. This should be a standard operating procedure on all airlines if they wish to continue to reduce the side of passenger seating.
You're wrong about that part... it's not logical.
That is a purely emotional response born out of ignorance thinking that you won't be affected and it's only the obvious fatties that will suffer (which pleases you).
First off, if you don't fit in the seat (with the seatbelt around you) you can legally be deplaned.
Secondly, it won't work that way. Airlines, particularly low cost airlines will just end up using it as an additional revenue stream by setting the baseline absurdly low, such as declaring t
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"I pay now to check an overnight bag (which I used to be able to carry-on), but some 500 pound person can get a middle seat and make two people miserable."
Your overnight bag is a choice, but let's not pretend your comment has any merit. It does not, it's motivated by pure hatred.
"There's an airline that flies to some pacific island that has an obesity problem and they weigh the passengers and charge them appropriately."
Citation please. Not that local airlines don't weigh passengers, they do, but because i
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Nope, OP is correct. From 2019 [smh.com.au]:
As well as passenger comfort, more weight equals more fuel burned. In 2016 Hawaiian Airlines discovered that its aircraft were using more fuel than projected on flights between Honolulu and American Samoa. The reason was found to be passengers' weight, and the average American Samoan man weighs in at 102.5kg.
Three years before Samoa Air introduced a charge for overweight passengers. The airline serviced several islands in the South Pacific including Tonga, another well-fleshed kingdom. The late Tongan King Tupou IV, who died in 2006, weighed 200kg. Samoa Air faded from view in 2015 and its successor, Samoa Airways, never adopted the same practice.
But yeah, nothing but pure hatred for an airline to realize they were burning more fuel because of overweight/obese passengers.
From 2023 [executiveflyers.com], a list of airlines which charge more for overweight passengers, though some do offer a refund on the extra amount under certain conditions.
Note: Southwes [thesun.co.uk]
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No, you pay to check a bag because the baggage handlers want more money.
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Airlines should charge extra based on how much the person is over the ideal weight for their height. I'm about 17 lbs overweight for my height of 5'10, so I should be penalized at least 2 dollars for every pound. That will add to my motivation when I visit the gym. At the same time though airlines must give discounts to anyone lighter than their ideal weight. The scale slides both ways...
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wtf does height have to do with it?
Airlines already aren't allowed to charge more if you're in a wheelchair, on the premise that you can't magically become un-disabled. Well, I can't magically become shorter either, so my allegedly healthy weight is higher than someone who is shorter.
It's all bullshit anyway, though. In exchange for allowing the airlines to operate, they should have to charge everyone the same. They have no natural right to exist, no corporation does as they are all legal fictions which only exist on paper and in the legal s
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"They have no natural right to exist, no corporation does as they are all legal fictions which only exist on paper and in the legal system. "
People consistently fail to realize this. Corporations only exist because of government. We the people have the right to decide whether they exist or not.
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Corporations only exist because of government. We the people have the right to decide whether they exist or not.
Corporations only came into existence because of government. Then, in a predictable sleight-of-hand devolution, corporation-friendly configurations of government came to exist because of corporations. The situation which the US currently finds itself in is a prime example of this process.
It strikes me that the "right to decide" that you mentioned exists somewhere on the spectrum between political theory and wishful thinking. On some days, that spectrum is about a nanometre wide.
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Corporations came into existence because of pirates and coffee swilling Dutchmen.
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This reminds me of a bit by James Gregory (comedian) (this is a paraphrase, his Southern accent made it sound much funnier):
I was down the Caribbean and going from one island to the next. They have these little island hoppers, they look like crop dusters, they really do. I approached the plane and a guy walked up to me and asked how much do you weight.
"I asked him why do you need to know." He answered "so we'll know how much fuel to put in."
Hell, I weight 600 lbs, fill'er up.....I'll buy....fill'er up. Woul
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Hmm. They might actually have meant that they will actually reduce the amount of fuel rather than increase it though. The pilot might actually prefer to have a lot of extra reserve, but needs to reduce it if someone too heavy gets on the plane.
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ideal weight for their height.
I guarantee they would use BMI [wikipedia.org], which introduces other disparities [obesitymedicine.org].