Obesity drives up U.S. fuel appetite

THE WASHINGTON TIMES ^ | October 26, 2006 | Jennifer Harper

[CSM]

Chubby drivers and plump passengers add to the fuel crisis in more ways than one. A fat nation needs more gas in the tank, according to research released yesterday.

[CSM]

Time for the Government to regulate people's diet.

[CSM]

Can't say we didn't warn them.

[tgusa]

This must be today's BFO (Blinding Flash of the Obvious).

[timsbella]

SUV's idling at the drive thru...

[darkwing104]

On a good note, Maybe we can become competitive in the Sumo events when it becomes part of future Olympics.

Give me a break!!!

[newgeezer]

    "The key finding is that almost a billion gallons of fuel are consumed each year because of the average weight gain of people living in the U.S. since 1960," said Sheldon Jacobson, a computer scientist at the University of Illinois who crunched the numbers to show obesity is expensive on the roadways, and it's going to get worse.
    We may be hungry, but we're also impatient.
    "If our nation gets lighter -- and healthier -- one of the side benefits is that we will simply use less fuel," said Mr. Jacobson, adding that although Americans continue to gain weight, they are also driving more aggressively, which in turn uses more fuel.
    He compared national health data and passenger-car fuel consumption from 1960 to 2003 to find that because of a heftier population, we use 983 million gallons of gas more each year than we did in the slimmer '60s. That amount could fill 1.7 million gas tanks.
    It also translates to an extra $7.7 million a day, or $2.8 billion a year for consumers -- serious money, Mr. Jacobson says, considering that much of our fuel comes from foreign sources. A further finding of note: His analysis showed that every extra pound of human body weight in a vehicle equals an additional 39 million gallons of extra gasoline use collectively in a year.

Fascinating. Virtually useless trivia but, nonetheless, fascinating.

[rwgal]

Don't you think this report is a crock of crap? Wasn't it some left wing org that has an agenda....BTW please pass the burgers...............bbbuuuuuuuuurrrrrpppppp.

Meadow Muffin

[PolishProud]

As anyone concluded that, as less people smoke more people are over weight.That's not a case for smoking, but a little known and cared for assertion.

[digger48]

The key finding is that almost a billion gallons of fuel are consumed each year because of the average weight gain

How many gallons, TOTAL, do we use a year?

[rlmorel]

[Bernard Marx]

This is an utterly BS story designed to push a point of view. Maybe Jacobsen, the "computer scientist," could more profitably do a study on the ridiculous amount of excess gas consumption caused by badly-timed stoplights. Or obese SUVs.

[posterchild]

I'm suspicious that any 'number crunching' would be able to account for different models of cars, different driving habits, and other parameters and isolate the component due to person weight.

[Eva]

This is a riot, the article is even funnier than the one from the WSJ about how it's doubtful that Big Oil was going to be able to sustain the current rate of profit growth. I'm not sure if the writer was bragging or complaining, but it was just such an understatement.

[fatnotlazy]

Time for the Government to regulate people's diet.

***

I see it coming. In fact, it's already here.

[mtbopfuyn]

Another law suit against McDonald's?

What a bunch of hogwash! Imagine all the gas we'd save if kids didn't leave half their room and adults carting around half their office in back seats. Imagine the gallons saved if schools would have their after school activities immediately after school rather than at 6pm so parents wouldn't have to cart them home and back to the activity and back home again. Imagine all the fuel airlines would save if they'd eliminate the 1 oz bags of peanuts. Imagine how nice the world would be if the government and everyone else would keep their noses out of what I drive and what I eat.

[PittsburghAfterDark]

2,800 lb passenger car.

175 pound person or 275 pound person.

Hmmm, let's see. 100 lbs additional weight on a 2,800 pound vehicle. Yep, that 3.8% weight increase is going to kill us all.

[staytrue]

a yahoo story said this amounted to about 2.5 days worth

extrapolating means we use about 130 billion gallons.

[Jaded]

Eh. Driving faster and more aggressively to get to the drive thru at MickeyD's or Jack's.

[fatnotlazy]

Liberals love stories like this. So they can form task forces to study the problem, create government agencies to employ their cronies, then implement still more rules and regulations designed to "take care of us." More intrusion into our private lives and abdication of our rights and freedoms.

[M1Tanker]

I saw this on Pravda's "Headline News"... Oh wait, it was Al Jezzerra... Nope, it was CNN. I get them confused since they all say the same thing.

Talk about a story with no research or "investigative journalism"!!! MAYBE in SMALL cars (like a Prius or other gerbil wheel powered car), there is a slight weight issue. But not in larger vehicles with extra power far exceeding that required for non-towing (normal) use. All in all, this was an idiotic story designed to promote calls for new regulation and other leftist wet-dreams. Just like Human Induced Global Warming and the "glories" of soclialism, the facts debunk this newest myth.

Gross Vehicle Weights have gone up on many vehicles over the years, but the fuel economy remains almost constant or has improved.

We are losing gas mileage from overly aggressive drivers, people who leave their cars running on idle for long periods, poor maintenance, and bad driving habits. The manufacturers have made vehicles more efficient and able to accelerate faster.

http://www.epa.gov/otaq/cert/mpg/fetrends/420s06003.htm

http://www.epa.gov/otaq/fetrends.htm

http://www.jdpower.com/autos/content/articles/article.asp?id=129

http://autos.msn.com/advice/article.aspx?contentid=4023628

From the last article (ignoring the fact that the MSM still can't get it through it's head that the USA does not import that much of its oil from the Middle East).


From the article linked above:

What Affects Fuel Economy?
Weather conditions, aerodynamic drag as a vehicle moves through the air, use of accessories, tire inflation and wheel alignment, the tuning of the engine, how much weight a vehicle is carrying, its speed and a driver's habits all play a role.

For instance, driving up a mountain road with a 7 percent grade can cut fuel economy by as much as 25 percent.

If tires aren't properly inflated, fuel economy can be cut by up to 6 percent, and misaligned wheels also decrease fuel economy, said one Ford engineer.

And drivers who manage their driving habits—accelerating gradually, driving smoothly and with care—can boost fuel economy as much as 20 percent compared to a more aggressive driving style, the EPA says.


Now, as for the weight it is carrying, how much does it take to affect a typical small car?

AutoZone estimated that an extra 200 pounds of weight can reduce a vehicle's fuel economy by 1 mile per gallon.


200 LBS to make a 1MPG difference!!! Not 20LBS, not 40, not 50. Rosie O'Donnell or Micheal Moore are fat enough to cause issues with their cars (or limos), but not "most Americans" as the media loves to say.