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Obesity contributes to global warming:study
National Post ^ | 05/15/08 | Michael Khan, Reuters

Posted on 05/16/2008 9:18:04 AM PDT by gallaxyglue

Obesity contributes to global warming: study Michael Kahn, Reuters Published: Thursday, May 15, 2008

GENEVA (Reuters) - Obesity contributes to global warming, too.

Obese and overweight people require more fuel to transport them and the food they eat, and the problem will worsen as the population literally swells in size, a team at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine says.

This adds to food shortages and higher energy prices, the school's researchers Phil Edwards and Ian Roberts wrote in the journal Lancet on Friday.

"We are all becoming heavier and it is a global responsibility," Edwards said in a telephone interview. "Obesity is a key part of the big picture."

At least 400 million adults worldwide are obese. The World Health Organization (WHO) projects by 2015, 2.3 billion adults will be overweight and more than 700 million will be obese.

In their model, the researchers pegged 40 percent of the global population as obese with a body mass index of near 30. Many nations are fast approaching or have surpassed this level, Edwards said.

BMI is a calculation of height to weight, and the normal range is usually considered to be 18 to 25, with more than 25 considered overweight and above 30 obese.

The researchers found that obese people require 1,680 daily calories to sustain normal energy and another 1,280 calories to maintain daily activities, 18 percent more than someone with a stable BMI.

Because thinner people eat less and are more likely to walk than rely on cars, a slimmer population would lower demand for fuel for transportation and for agriculture, Edwards said.

This is also important because 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions stem from agriculture, he added.

The next step is quantifying how much a heavier population is contributing to climate change, higher fuel prices and food shortages, he added.

"Promotion of a normal distribution of BMI would reduce the global demand for, and thus the price of, food," Edwards and Roberts wrote.


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Miscellaneous; Weather; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: agw; globalwarming
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To: AdmSmith; Berosus; Convert from ECUSA; dervish; Ernest_at_the_Beach; Fred Nerks; george76; ...
"We are all becoming heavier and it is a global responsibility," Edwards said in a telephone interview.
If I ever meet this guy, I'm going to "pound" the feces out of him. No reason.
21 posted on 05/16/2008 5:27:49 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/_______________________Profile updated Monday, April 28, 2008)
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To: SunkenCiv; Rushmore Rocks; porter_knorr; penowa; justiceseeker93; george76; Smokin' Joe

One time I saw this on a bumper sticker:

“Obesity fights crime. Fat people are harder to kidnap.”


22 posted on 05/16/2008 5:39:47 PM PDT by LucyT
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To: LucyT

Plus, fat criminals can’t make a getaway worth a dang. Can’t climb fences, can’t hide behind stuff, run out of breath easily, have trouble with car doors...


23 posted on 05/16/2008 5:44:06 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/_______________________Profile updated Monday, April 28, 2008)
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To: LucyT

Lol, thanks for alerting me Lucy.


24 posted on 05/16/2008 6:28:51 PM PDT by potlatch
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To: SunkenCiv
Idiot. Fat people die younger. They just take up more room while they are alive:


25 posted on 05/17/2008 3:44:33 AM PDT by Fred Nerks (FAIR DINKUM!)
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To: SunkenCiv

Phil Edwards.

Ian Roberts

just so you can recognize them - to pound the feces out of them both - for no reason other than they are both idiots.

found them here:link.

26 posted on 05/17/2008 4:42:32 AM PDT by Fred Nerks (FAIR DINKUM!)
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To: Fred Nerks

Wow, I’d better get to the gym. ;’)


27 posted on 05/17/2008 9:13:57 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/_______________________Profile updated Monday, April 28, 2008)
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To: SunkenCiv

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2017475/posts

Global Warming May Lead To Increase In Kidney Stones Disease
Science Daily ^ | 5/15/08


28 posted on 05/17/2008 5:57:46 PM PDT by Fred Nerks (FAIR DINKUM!)
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To: Fred Nerks

So, obese people are actually *causing* kidney stones! Those fat ba-, oh wait, the moderator said watch our remarks about Senator You Know Who. ;’)


29 posted on 05/17/2008 9:44:15 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/_______________________Profile updated Monday, April 28, 2008)
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To: SunkenCiv

Global warming could worsen HIV/AIDS epidemic
MongaBay ^ | 4/30/2008

Posted on Sunday, May 18, 2008 3:43:01 PM by Entrepreneur

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2017578/posts


30 posted on 05/18/2008 3:55:44 AM PDT by Fred Nerks (FAIR DINKUM!)
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To: Fred Nerks

I saw a story last night about some HIV-positive joker who got 35 years for spitting on someone. :’) Okay, let’s see... that’ll mean more prison space, which means more concrete, concrete productions produces CO2... ;’)


31 posted on 05/18/2008 9:01:54 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/_______________________Profile updated Monday, April 28, 2008)
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