Shed Pounds to cut oil and Food Costs
Reported May 20, 2008
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — With fuel costs through the roof, everyone is looking for the answer to our energy crisis. According to two British authors, the worldwide need for transportation fuel and food could be greatly reduced if obese people walked and cycled more and if healthy urban transportation was promoted.
Dr. Phil Edwards and Dr. Ian Roberts of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in the United Kingdom say not only do obese people consume 18 percent more food energy than the normal population, but they use more fuel because they are more likely to drive than walk. They also say because obese people eat more, there is a need for additional fuel to transport the extra food, thus driving the price of food up.
Drs. Edwards and Roberts say motorized transportation is more than 95 percent oil dependent and accounts for almost half of the world oil use. They also say car use contributes to rising food prices by promoting obesity, which increases the global demand for food.
Their solution calls for transport policies that promote walking and cycling to reduce obesity in the population, which will then decrease the demand for food and fuel.
The authors say decreased car use by people of all sizes will reduce greenhouse gases and therefore the need for biofuels. The increased activity levels will reduce the risk of injury, air pollution and generally improve public health.
SOURCE: The Lancet, published online May 17, 2008