http://www.cnn.com/2009/H...index.html

Thinner is better to curb global warming, study says

By Elizabeth Landau
CNN

(CNN) -- Here's yet another reason to stay in shape: Thinner people contribute less to global warming, according to a new study.


More than 1 billion adults worldwide are overweight, and about 300 million are obese.

Researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine published a study showing that, because of food production and transportation factors, a population of heavier people contributes more harmful gases to the planet than a population of thin people.

Given that it takes more energy to move heavier people, transportation of heavier people requires more fuel, which creates more greenhouse gas emissions, the authors write.

"The main message is staying thin. It's good for you, and it's good for the planet," said Phil Edwards, senior lecturer at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

The study offers this novel approach to the global warming problem as U.S. lawmakers discuss the future of climate change legislation. This week, the the House Energy and Commerce Committee is scheduled to begin on a comprehensive energy and climate bill. On Friday, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that six greenhouse gases pose potential health hazards, an announcement that could prompt the regulation of the gases.

More than 1 billion adults worldwide are overweight, and about 300 million are obese, the study said. Generally, the body mass index, a measure of obesity, is increasing in most countries worldwide, from China to European countries to the United States.

BMI is going up because of the availability of food and motorized transportation, Edwards said. People are less active now than they were 30 years ago, and the prevalence of fast food has given people less healthy, more energy-dense options.

Using statistical models, the authors compared the distribution of BMI in the United Kingdom in the 1970s -- when 3.5 percent of the population was obese -- with a prediction for the country's BMI distribution in 2010, reflecting 40 percent obesity.

"In terms of environmental impact, the lean population has a much smaller carbon footprint," Edwards said.

The population with 40 percent obese people requires 19 percent more food energy for its total energy expenditure than the population with 3.5 percent obese people, the study showed.

This 19 percent increase in food consumption translates into an increase of 270 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, the study said.

"The findings make sense and highlight an important global co-benefit of losing weight, along with the significant personal health benefits," said Patrick Kinney, associate professor at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, who was not involved in the study.

In terms of obesity rate, the U.S. population is not far off from the overweight population model in this study. The country has 33.3 percent obese people, according to the Mayo Clinic.

The study suggests that governments have a responsibility to encourage people to be more physically active, Edwards said. Active transportation, such as cycling and walking, helps maintain a healthy weight but requires safe streets, he said.

"If the government wants to promote active transport, which would be good for the environment and for individual health, it needs to make the environment safe to do that," he said.

Although climate change has come into the forefront as a major world problem recently, this is not the first time scholars have thought about the connection between fossil fuel and body fat.

In 1978, a year the United States experienced an oil shock, a study in the American Journal of Public Health showed that if all overweight people in the country aged 18 to 79 reached their optimal weight, the resulting energy savings would equal 1.3 billion gallons of gasoline.

After the dieting period, about 750 million gallons of gasoline would be saved every year, said the authors, Bruce Hannon, professor at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and Timothy Lohman, now professor emeritus at the University of Arizona.

Today, research has shown that the obesity epidemic costs the United States about $100 billion a year, said Dr. Martin Donohoe of Portland State University, who runs the Web site Public Health and Social Justice. In terms of energy expenditure, the average food product travels 1,500 miles to get to your table, he said.

Some measures to curb obesity include making healthier meals available in schools, putting nutritional information on food packages and menus, and banning trans fats, he said.

good grief

Um, has anyone seen the perfect thin people that live in the wealthy parts of Orange County who live completely oppulent lifestyles? A few more styrofoam fast food containers in the landfill aint gonna touch that

What

The

Fuck

I think 1 billion fat people would still be better than 7 billion thin ones

well, its becoming that serious that they are trying to calculate everyones bio-footprint. which IMO is uncalled for.

i don't understand why industry/manufacturing isn't held accountable for their consumption rather than the consumer.

Why do all these Walgreens get TIFF dollars (not have to pay taxes for the the next 10+ years) as an incentive for them to build. Yet the taxpayer gets taxes raised to widen the roads and make new curbs and sidewalks to accomodate the new development.
Also property gets incorporated into cities that way the tax payers have to pay to have new roads, sewage and electricity ran to these new areas of development, while the new developers get to not pay any taxes.
Why are these newly developed areas created without solar panels, alternative energy etc. *required in their construction? Why dont they have to reclaim water, why do they not have to recycle their packaging from the goods they place in their stores?
This is new construction/developement. Why do they not have to do these things?

The whole global warming thing seems farfetched in my book. It make be legit but they are side effects 2 everything humans do.

[Edited 4/20/09 12:58pm]

Fucking stupid (and I'm not even fat).

Graycap23 said:

I believe it's real, but I think over population is the real problem, and global warming is a symptom.

my thighs say that this story is just stupid!


im going to go eat another cookie, so there!

NDRU said:

I wonder if it could even be avoided?

I remember reading that cow methane (ie farts) are a huge source of greenhouse gasses

So vegetarians help by only producing their own gasses not adding cows into the equation.

So if this is based on fact, why is it upsetting to people?

nakedpianoplayer said:

JustErin said:

I know, right? you'd think somebody knocked out a ds kid or something...

JustErin said:

Truth hurts? Maybe I should go on a diet.
[Edited 4/20/09 13:27pm]

JustErin said:

I don’t find it “upsetting,” just a little bit ridiculous.
I think they’re both real issues to address, absolutely. But it’s stretching to link obesity with global warming.

JustErin said:

Well, it's kind of a limited way of assigning blame. There are other factors in this issue.

For example, people working out in gyms should not use air conditioners.
California vegetarians should not get their blueberries from New Zealand
Thin housewives should not drive alone in enormous SUV's
Al Gore should not ride on private jets to speak about global warming
Trader Joe's should not use so much packaging on their fruits & veggies

but this report seems to pint the finger at overweight people, when they're just one small example
[Edited 4/20/09 13:29pm]

CarrieMpls said:

But it's not a stretch when you read the facts they stated.

Anyway, I'm part of the problem myself!!

JustErin said:

curvy women are destroying the planet!

the stretch is to say that the obesity is the problem rather than people's behavior. I doubt a fat farmer who grows everything he eats is much of an ecological burden.
[Edited 4/20/09 13:31pm]

NDRU said:

It's not saying it's the problem rather that it's just another contributor to the problem.

Oh, shame on those fatties!

JustErin said:

yes I agree that little things are still a factor, but it says up above "the main message is staying thin"

I think that's kind of BS.

NDRU said:

carbon nom nom

Alright already. I'll go the durn gym. Sheesh.

NDRU said:

hey that's offensive...I'm skinny!!!

CarrieMpls said:

See, you're so much nicer than me. My initial thought when I read this was,

"Oh bite my ass!"