CNBC: Gas Prices and Your Waistline

PeakingAroundtheCorner

Currently CNBC is having a discussion about obesity and it's effect on the amount of energy we consume. They're saying that fat people cause the burning of 1 billion gallons (barrels? saw the "1 billion" but not the increment but I'm assuming it's gallons) of gas per year and that airlines are considering measures that would take this into consideration.

Ok fat people, lose it or pay up!
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3aidlillahi

I don't see how that man calculated a billion gallons a year are wasted in the US on overweight people. He said that we weigh an additional 24 lbs than 1960 and that costs 1 billion gallons. We only use 10 mpd *42 = 420 million gallons/day *365 days/year = 150 billion gallons. So he's saying that we use roughly .66% more gasoline because of fat. But we know that any small incremental increase in the weight of the car has virtually no decrease in efficiency. I doubt that adding 24 lbs to a 2000 lb car does much to the gas mileage due to wind resistance being a much greater effect on gas mileage than weight. I'd concede maybe a few hundred million gallons, but that has little to do with supply/demand. We can see half a million barrels a day does little to quell the market. So what would even a billion gallons (equivalent to 65,000 barrels/day) do?

Not to mention, it seems like he's advocating eating less and working out at home. While those are great ideas, I have a better one, bike to work. Then you lose the obesity and save 100% of the gasoline rather than a maximum of 0.66% but more likely 0.10% of your gasoline.
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sangpourhuile · Coal Joined: Jun 16, 2008 Posts: 4

I think more petroleum is used to feed our appetites than is used to haul our fat asses around. If it's true that 10 calories worth of hydrocarbon energy go into producing 1 calorie of consumable foodstuffs than it is certainly the case.

The good news is that if food prices rose 50% and the average American was forced to reduce consumption by 1/3 the overall health of our country might actually improve. Other countries not so much.