Posted on 09/13/2007 6:15:15 PM PDT by familyop
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Higher U.S. gasoline prices may slim more than just wallets, according to a new study from Washington University in St. Louis.
Entitled "A Silver Lining? The Connection between Gas Prices and Obesity," the study found that an additional $1 per gallon in real gasoline prices would reduce U.S. obesity by 15 percent after five years.
The report, written by Charles Courtemanche for his doctoral dissertation in health economics, found that the 13 percent rise in obesity between 1979 and 2004 can be attributed to falling pump prices.
Gasoline hit a low of less than $1.50 per gallon in 2000 before moving back to a record high of $3.22 in May 2007.
Higher gasoline prices can reduce obesity by leading people to walk or cycle instead of drive and eat leaner at home instead of rich food at restaurants.
Courtemanche said he became interested in the link after rising gasoline prices made him think about eschewing his car for public transport.
"I was pumping gas one day, thinking with gas prices so high I may have to take the Metro," he said, referring to the public transportation system serving the St. Louis area.
Courtemanche said he figured he would get an extra 30 minutes of exercise per day by walking to and from the Metro station.
Obesity, defined as having a body mass index greater than 30, has been considered to factor in as many as 112,000 deaths annually.
U.S. health costs related to obesity are estimated at $117 billion per year as studies sponsored by the U.S. government have linked it with high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
Brace yourselves!
From The Independent (also in Britain). We’re not allowed to post any content from The Independent, so here’s the title and link only.
Rising petrol prices could force obese Americans to hit the street
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article2956424.ece
Yeah, right.
Oh, so in addition to gasoline taxes that supposedly fund roads, now we’re going to add more gas taxes to control people’s behavior! Sure, why not a gas tax to fund the UN, rebuild New Orleans, and pay for Silky Pony’s haircuts, too?
The price of gas determines whether or not you are a fat slob? Give me a break here. Do they really believe that the American people are that stupid?
I hear that global warming is also partially responsible for global warming!
Correlation does not imply or equal causation-—if he were my student, he’d be pumping gas instead of getting his dissertation approved. Also correlating with this trend is the price of food, but to include this would just muddy the waters for this dimwit’s thesis.
There is some truism here … if I walked to work everyday I would lose weight. Of course I live 27 miles from work. /s
That could happen, if the subsidies to produce ethanol get rich enough.
Remember, we have HFCS because of sugar-price subsidies. Just about any major bad thing can be attributed to stupid government in only a couple of mental steps!
You know what would really reduce the consumption of gasoline...more offices allowing people to work from home.
By this study’s line of thinking people must have been much more overweight in the 1930’s than they are today.
I would say IGore probably has enough blubber to fuel all the cars in D.C. for at least a week.
I was going to add something like that but inertia (and 25 extra pounds) over came me...
I only have 8 extra pounds, and that’s from wine (which must be getting a massive subsidy from the government of South Africa, to be so cheap in my grocery store in North Carolina!).
Corn growers will sell where the price is best, whether it’s to pig farmers in China, or ethanol producers in the U.S. It would be interesting to see what results a free market would produce, though.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.