I had to do a double-take when I first saw this story yesterday. According to the daily newspaper AM New York, the third leading cause od delays on the city's massive subway system is "sick customer," the transit agency's euphemism for a delay caused by passenger illness. And one of the largest causes of these delays? Female passengers fainting on trains during the morning rush hour, specifically because they were fasting to lose weight to squeeze into tight, revealing outfits for the warm weather.

This is according to a study done by the Metropolitan Transit Authority covering the period from October 2000 to October 2005.

The article mentions an emergency medical technician working at Grand Central Station, Asim Nelson, who has treated a number of passengers who admitted that skipping meals had led to their fainting spells. Nelson mentioned that while illnesses seen on the subways range from flu symptoms to anxiety attacks to heat exhaustion, they don't compare in number to the fainting spells seen in patients who skip meals.

Perhaps passengers on crash diets should wear warning stickers on their clothing cautioning passengers that they might keel over in the middle of their journey, so that fellow travelers can help prop them up (or get out of the way)?