Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

New Crash Test Dummies Reflect Rising American Bodyweight

Posted by timothy on from the my-self-esteem-has-certainly-taken-a-beating dept.

Ever thought that all those crash-test dummies getting slammed around in slow-motion were reflecting an unrealistic, hard-to-achieve body image? One company is acting to change that, with some super-sized (or right-sized) dummies more in line with current American body shapes: Plymouth, Michigan-based company Humanetics said that it has been manufacturing overweight crash test dummies to reflect growing obesity trends in the U.S. Humanetics has been the pioneer in crash test dummies segment since the 1950s. But now, the company's crash test dummies are undergoing a makeover, which will represent thicker waistlines and large rear ends of Americans.

6 of 144 comments (clear)

  1. What did you expect.. by bazmail · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ... from our country that now judges food quality in calories per dollar?

    Its disgusting seeing my nation turning into a bunch of blubber-pods.

    1. Re:What did you expect.. by Penguinisto · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Seriously? The old self-loathing OMG-I-hate-my-country-because-we're-all-so-fat! trope? What are you, a sophomore in his first PoliSci class?

      Lookit - you're dead-wrong in that this is somehow just an American thing: Europe and many parts of Asia(!) are seeing a large rise in obesity as well.

      This isn't a national thing, it's a side-effect caused by an overall rising standard of living within any given culture. The short version: If you're not forced to skip meals and not forced to sweat your ass off just to put food on the table, you're going to have a surfeit of calories, and neither your metabolism or hunger mechanism got the memo.

      Now if you're that worried about folks whose physiological evolution hasn't caught up to relative prosperity, then crash the global economy and drive civilization back into the dark ages. Otherwise, dude, grow up already... this is much simpler (and at the same time more complex) than you think.

      --
      Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
    2. Re:What did you expect.. by Person147 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      This isn't a national thing, it's a side-effect caused by an overall rising standard of living within any given culture.

      Actually in the UK (and I expect other countries) the poorer members of society are the fatter ones (citation). So the evidence collected thus far completely contradicts your comment. It may well be the case that as a culture (or country) itself raises its standards of living the population as a whole get fatter - but that wasn't your observation.

  2. Average body size by OzPeter · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Kinda relevant, Average American Male's Body Compared To Bodies Of Men From Other Nations

    --
    I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
  3. What about the "old normal"? by dpilot · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Might this have bad implications for those who can keep their appetites and activity levels in decent proportion?

    I'm thinking about the fact that airbags can be harmful to kids, because they're tuned for adults. What happens when we start tuning our restraint systems for the obese? Will they continue to function properly for trim people, will they work less effectively, or might they actually become harmful, like airbags for kids? (I would expect that they might become too stiff for old-normal body proportions, for instance.)

    --
    The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.
  4. Air bags by c · · Score: 4, Interesting

    As long as it doesn't lead to an increase in the power of air bags such that they become (more) unsafe to people with a healthy weight, I don't see this as an entirely bad thing.

    --
    Log in or piss off.