Controversy over a Southwest Airlines' policy of charging overweight passengers for two tickets if they spill over into their neighbor's seat continued today as advocates for the obese angrily insisted overweight passengers should not be forced to buy an extra ticket.

The Southwest guidelines, which are also followed by Continental and American, call for large passengers to purchase two tickets if they cannot fit into one seat. However, Lewis Brockvurst, president of the activist group America Off the Scale, said that such a policy is downright discriminatory and mean-spirited. It's their attempt single out a group that's been very heavily stigmatized rather than making some accommodations."

Southwest spokesperson Arlene Dieter, however, insisted that charging obese passengers an extra ticket was not an accommodation but an absolute necessity. "Our slimmer passengers at least deserve that kind of consideration from us."

"Mmmmmm... another side to this coin," Brockvurst replied.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 25 percent of Americans are now significantly overweight, and that number continues to increase. Not coincidentally, said Continental Airlines spokesman Mark Fryberg, 90 percent of passenger complaints come from people who say they are crowded by large neighbors. "But I hardly think that berating them and charging them an extra seat is the answer," he said.

"What are the other 10 percent of complaints about?" asked Brockvurst.

"Customers saying we don't serve enough food," Fryberg replied.

Not all obese Americans, however, agreed. Many were upset that their own association was propagating a stereotype.

"To suggest we would have to pay extra as obese passengers implies that we're overweight simply because we need extra room to spread out, " said Rhonda Gotnik of Arlington, Va. "As everyone knows, the real problem is the seats they make us squeeze into. Get rid of those small seats and install couches instead!"