News Flash: Obesity Contributes to Global Warming
No, I'm not kidding
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Sheesh, as if things aren’t bad enough for fat people in this world. Among other things, they’re forced to buy two seats on a plane. They take the blame for driving up the cost of medical care in this country. And now comes this news from Reuters:
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.
Further on in the story comes this tidbit:
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.
After reading this, all I could think was, “Man, someone needs a reality check.” I have to imagine that there are some more critical problems to deal with here regarding global warming, such as, you know, over-population, coal-dependent energy systems, and whether Leo DiCaprio can make everyone trade in their Hummer H2’s for Toyota hybrids.
I don’t doubt that Mr. Edwards has a semi-valid point, but to me this smacks of a game I call “It’s-Someone-Else’s-Fault.” Thankfully, I’ve never had to deal with being overweight, but I can’t imagine that it’s any fun. An obese person already has to deal with scorn, health issues, and what I’m sure is a mess of psychological issues as well. The last thing I’m going to do is blame them for global warming, especially when I just had the audacity to drive one mile for a $3 cup of coffee made from the same beans I have sitting in my kitchen.
What do you think?
Over the last decade Grant Davis has been writing and editing articles about health, fitness, and nutrition. He lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado.