A tubby middle-aged man traveling by plane to the Northeast Chinese city of Harbin chose vanity over his veins last week and ended up in the hospital as a result.

According to local media reports, the unnamed passenger found himself seated next to a very pretty woman, and, fearing she would think less of him if she saw his beer belly, decided to refrain from drinking the entire flight to avoid having to use the restroom.

Additionally, the 40-year-old shunned stretching of any sort, keeping himself in a static position for the duration of the flight.

Landing at Fujian Changle International Airport five hours later, the man quickly discovered that he had become immobile, and soon thereafter became unconscious.

He was rushed to a local hospital where it was determined that the man was suffering from Deep Vein Thrombosis — a condition often associated with air travel.

Flight Health suggests reducing the risk of DVT by drinking plenty of water during the flight and "regularly go[ing] for a short walk to the restroom to keep your legs moving."

Unfortunately, the site fails to offer alternatives for portly passengers who are worried about looking fat in front of good-looking people.

[photo unrelated via Kieran Daly/Flightglobal]