From Heavier Public Costs Airlines in Fuel?:
The 10-pound (4.5-kg) increase in the average weight of American adults in the 1990s means additional expenses for struggling airlines today, according to the findings published by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.The researchers for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that carriers spent $275 million in fuel costs to carry the additional weight of passengers in 2000.
I have to wonder how luggage and carry-on weights have changed. Anyway, just how much do Amercians weigh?
The average weight of an adult man was 191 pounds (86.6 kg) in 2002, while the average weight for women was 164.3 pounds (74.5 kg).