That's a volleyball. Those are pretty light. You're not going to get knocked out by one of those, especially from that angle.
"How about asking them directly?"
Yes, you should absolutely do that. Talking is good. Communicating solves problems.
People are heavy. Even thin people. Gaining a few kilos won't make any difference. Unless you're used to carrying people, you're probably not going to notice a 10% or maybe even a 20% difference, and that's a significant change for a person.
it's illegal to be this cute on the last page
Quite the opposite. It's absolutely legal and very much encouraged.