Not even three months ago Universal Studios Hollywood had opened the doors of its new Super Nintendo World area when complaints began to rain. The park, centered on Nintendo characters, features the Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge attraction, a kind of roller coaster with virtual reality elements, the Toadstool Café restaurant and various arcade games and gift shops.
However, Bowser’s Challenge has already drawn a lot of criticism, as the ride’s karts have a safety requirement whereby you cannot have more than a 40 inch waist (about 101.6 centimeters) to fit into them, something that doesn’t sit well with many Americans. While American women (according to Healthline) have a median waist of 38.7 inches, well below the cutoff, men are just slightly above the 40.2-inch median. This means that many people, mostly men, are simply too old to make the trip.
This has caused people to complain on Twitter that Nintendo and Universal are not inclusive and some have even called them fatphobes. Regardless of one’s opinion, it is undeniable that Nintendo and Universal may have started the attraction’s desEsports Extrasfrom Japanese standards, where 32.6 inches is the average waist measurement, according to a 2013 study.
