Obesity: How fast and how much? "This is a major milestone..."

http://block-island.villagesoup.com/p/ferry-capacity-gets-leaner-as-passengers-get-larger/930248

Ferry capacity gets leaner as passengers get larger

By Judy Tierney | Dec 02, 2012

However, new Coast Guard regulations that came into effect in December 2011 reset the average weight companies must use to calculate capacity on passenger vessels. Now, they must estimate 185 pounds per person. That’s a 25-pound increase from the figure of 160 pounds that the Coast Guard had used since l960.

According to Interstate Navigation’s Vessel Operations Manager Christian Myers, “This is a major milestone for the industry. The average was 140 pounds forty years ago.” He suggested the Coast Guard may have looked at marine casualties and then adjusted the weights.