Fat Americans 'using more petrol'

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CutePommie

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Obese drivers 'using up more petrol'

US drivers use a billion gallons more fuel a year than in 1960
- Search: Obesity

Americans are spending more on petrol because they are getting fatter, according to a new study.

Cars in the US are using about a billion gallons more fuel annually than they would be if drivers weighed the same as they did in 1960, the Washington Post reported.

Adults are now an average of at least 24 pounds heavier than they were 46 years ago.

At recent petrol prices in the US that means $2.2 billion are spent at the pump each year because of America's weight problem.

"What we have here is a relationship that exists between the obesity epidemic and fuel consumption,'' study co-author Sheldon Jacobson, a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, told the newspaper.
The average man in the US weighs 13 stone 9 pounds, 25 pounds more than in 1960, while the average woman weighs 11 stone 10 pounds, up 24.

Prof Jacobson, an industrial engineer, calculates that Americans could save enough fuel to run 1.7 million vehicles for an entire year simply by trimming down to the size of their 1960 counterparts.

`"What we have here is a socio-economic implication of obesity,'' he said.

"If people decide as a nation to get healthier and lose weight and be fitter, not only will we have a healthier country but we're actually going to reduce our dependence on foreign oil very covertly, simply because we're going to be using less.''

The study is due to be published in the journal Engineering Economist.
 
I read this already. Interesting article. Doesn't surprise me in the least.
 
We need to remove un healthy hydrogated oils out of restaurant and grocery store.
 
jazzy said:
We need to remove un healthy hydrogated oils out of restaurant and grocery store.
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Er...that isn't the main reason why Americans are obese. It really comes down to eating less, healthier, and exercising. There is no magic bullet here.
 
Here's an interesting thought tangent.

If people adopt more healthy lifestyles, they may become more active. If they are more active, they may drive to places when they would normally stay home.

How much would gasoline consumption rise with more active lifestyles? Does it have the potential to offset the savings from weight reduction? Or does it just have a tiny impact (suppose more active people decided to bike more often to work instead of using the car)?
 
sr171soars said:
Er...that isn't the main reason why Americans are obese. It really comes down to eating less, healthier, and exercising. There is no magic bullet here.
Click to expand...
Have u seen foods on the shelves at grocery food store, too many unhealthy foods there unlikely back in early 1900's when they were not so many obese. Most of foods were added with unhealthy hydrogen oils which cause many people with heart problems and diabetics. It is time for our government to put on it. More power to pharmacy business and medical care to make profit off sick people by not restrict what put in the food on the shelves. too many people are unaware of what is going on when they go out to grocery shopping.
 
jazzy said:
Have u seen foods on the shelves at grocery food store, too many unhealthy foods there unlikely back in early 1900's when they were not so many obese. Most of foods were added with unhealthy hydrogen oils which cause many people with heart problems and diabetics. It is time for our government to put on it. More power to pharmacy business and medical care to make profit off sick people by not restrict what put in the food on the shelves. too many people are unaware of what is going on when they go out to grocery shopping.
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You get no argument from about the unheathy stuff they put in food. My family has become very conscious of this and have cut back on foods with such for awhile now. But that doesn't address all the problems. It only addresses what goes in. After that, there is a physical activity component that must be dealt with as well.

In other words, this society has become lazy. You forget that back in the early 1900's most people worked in an agarian society which meant that one didn't sit on their fannies all day. Only the wealthy and other such could even dream of that. Today is a far cry from that type of society.
 
sr171soars; said:
In other words, this society has become lazy. You forget that back in the early 1900's most people worked in an agarian society which meant that one didn't sit on their fannies all day. Only the wealthy and other such could even dream of that. Today is a far cry from that type of society.
Click to expand...

You know that in agrarian labor-intensive societies, a tan became unattractive partially because it was symbolic of lower socioeconomic standing? In current times, however, tans have gained popularity because they're more symbolic of affluent, well-travelled people.

Addendum to that? Full-bodied people were also more attractive than thin people. Today, the norm has changed.

Just another tidbit on labor environments and social and economic variables. ;)
 
Endymion said:
You know that in agrarian labor-intensive societies, a tan became unattractive partially because it was symbolic of lower socioeconomic standing? In current times, however, tans have gained popularity because they're more symbolic of affluent, well-travelled people.

Addendum to that? Full-bodied people were also more attractive than thin people. Today, the norm has changed.

Just another tidbit on labor environments and social and economic variables. ;)
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Yea, I was aware of these tidbits. Puts a whole different perspective on things doesn't it?

For one thing who is going to survive when the veneer of "civilization" is stripped away by a castatropic event? It ain't the obese nor is it the thin ones...society is sure screwed up for sure.
 
jazzy said:
We need to remove un healthy hydrogated oils out of restaurant and grocery store.
Click to expand...

No, You know that soda has alot of sugars and its cause gain more weight.

Not only for unhealthy oils, and many other thing that cause gain more weight.
 
Endymion said:
Here's an interesting thought tangent.

If people adopt more healthy lifestyles, they may become more active. If they are more active, they may drive to places when they would normally stay home.

How much would gasoline consumption rise with more active lifestyles? Does it have the potential to offset the savings from weight reduction? Or does it just have a tiny impact (suppose more active people decided to bike more often to work instead of using the car)?
Click to expand...

What about public transportation? Do you not think that people who practice more active lifestyles would be more inclined to take public transportation because they input the value of running to the subways from home? Or even bicycling to the subway and parking their wheels in the station before hopping on a train to work? Perhaps they also input the economical and environmental value of using public transportation as long as they don't mind the trade-off for time spent on trains and buses.

And I'm inclined to believe that people of more affluent backgrounds would be willing to spend long hours of commuting on the road for a charming house in the suburbs or even in the countryside instead of living in the filthy city. Although I don't know if affluent people are generally more active and fit, but there is a significant correlation between healthy lifestyles and class privileges.
 
sr171soars said:
For one thing who is going to survive when the veneer of "civilization" is stripped away by a castatropic event? It ain't the obese nor is it the thin ones...society is sure screwed up for sure.
Click to expand...

I take comfort in knowing that when we're all gone, annihilated by a global-scale nuclear war, the cockroaches may be still around.
 
me_punctured said:
I take comfort in knowing that when we're all gone, annihilated by a global-scale nuclear war, the cockroaches may be still around.
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I was thinking in context if some of us were still around which is a scarier scenario. If we are all gone, then my remarks are pointless.

Being a survivor under these circumstances is certainly not a appetizing prospect.
 
I saw this on TV news! I was surprised to hear about this. That made sense to me. It is so true that the society had gotten fat and not excerise much nowadays.
Too bad I live in country as I have to drive to town to do errands and shopping for groceries. If I live in city- I wouldnt mind riding my bicycle to the store and do the errands etc. :)
 
Pacman said:
No, You know that soda has alot of sugars and its cause gain more weight.

Not only for unhealthy oils, and many other thing that cause gain more weight.
Click to expand...

Sugar did not raise cholestral or trigycle but unhealthy oils does. Other country in Denmark, they forbid unhealthy oils and they do not have many health problems and many obseses as we do have here in America.

I talked with my friend about the difference between our childhoods and todays, I used to eat alot of foods with alot of sugar and they did not made me fat compare to those kids today. Back then they did not add much unhealthy oils in foods, we all had to make foods from stratch bec at the store they do not sell what they sell today, alot of packages with unhealthy oils in it.
 
SmileyGin said:
...If I live in city- I wouldnt mind riding my bicycle to the store and do the errands etc. :)
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You hit on a good point! I wouldn't mind either but it depends whether the town/city was friendly toward alternative transportation.

When one lives in the suburbs, it is much harder to consider walking, riding a bike, or whatever (besides the car) to the store. For one thing, often suburbia is not friendly toward those using alternative forms of transportation. Where I live in NC (Raleigh area), they have been requiring all new subdivisions to put in sidewalks. They have also retro-fitted sidewalks where they didn't exist in certain critical areas. The whole idea is to make the area more friendly to either walk or ride a bike. More people are doing so as a result but the numbers are still small. Even for all that, the dominant form of transportation (i.e., cars) is hard to ignore if you really want to get around. If mass transit (i.e, buses) were more frequent and more convenient, then I think one would see a decent shift in the mindset especially with the cost of gas these days.
 
Don't forget all the soda pops with tons of sugar in it!! It adds another 5 to 8 lbs to your tire tube around your waist. :eek3: Those pounds are the easiest to lose first.

No wonder we have diet shows like Losers (forgot full name) and liposuctions as popular short cut if you can afford it.

Yea, we are a fat nation and proud of it! :P Go to Las Vegas and its unbelievable how many fat families you see there.
 
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