Like three quarters of American men, I'm overweight. I'd never use an electric scooter because the absolute last thing I need in my life is an excuse to walk less. I'd wager at least a significant portion of that three quarters probably have thoughts similar to mine. Of the rest, most probably drive instead (which for the particularly obese, is probably a lot more comfortable than a scoooter.)
I see a ton more scooters on the sidewalk than I see people riding them. From my perspective these scooter companies have greatly overestimated the demand.
Have you ever used one? I get what you're saying, but as an example: my girlfriend and I have on multiple occasions, in multiple cities, used scooters to explore local geographic regions that would otherwise not have been possible in the same time constraint. We would ride across town, then get off and walk around for a bit until we decided to hop back on and ride way across town to another place and do the same thing. So it is possible to still get the exercise etc, with the benefit of being able to cover more turf than possible strictly through walking. Of course you could do the same thing with a bike, but it's more cumbersome and less agile imo.
I see a ton more scooters on the sidewalk than I see people riding them. From my perspective these scooter companies have greatly overestimated the demand.