Do you agree?
August 27, 2007 by admin
Filed under Questions and Answers
Obesity contributes to global warming: study
By Michael Kahn
Thu May 15, 7:03 PM ET
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. Ma
Continued:
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.
(Editing by Stephen Weeks)
What About Big People that are not nessecarily Obese, just Muscular, and big?
I don’t agree, one more thing to pass a law or make money.
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Sahara on Thu, 30th Aug 2007 7:09 am
It’s hard not to. The truth hurts sometimes. It’s not personal. It is just the way it is. But I think it goes beyond just people. Look at the food available today. I think part of the problem is that too many chemicals are being used and people are not getting satisfaction from eating so they eat more. Certainly that is not everyone but it could be a factor. Our lifestyle is another one. Some people work very long hours sedentary. A body in motion tends to stay in motion. A body at rest tends to say at rest. For a solution to work then we and corporations and the government need to come together and give/take.
Bob C on Sat, 1st Sep 2007 12:41 pm
In my defense as a fat person, I would also like to point out that eating more food contributes to the economy.
Therefore, skinny people are contributing to the current recession!
Caicos Turkey on Sun, 2nd Sep 2007 5:14 pm
That is why I have been arguing for years that when travelling by air, you and your baggage should be weighed together within an agreed limit. It is ridiculous that large people should have the same baggage allowance as small ones.
Perhaps employers could receive help towards providing gym subscriptions for their staff.
nigel v on Mon, 3rd Sep 2007 2:25 am
No i don’t agree. I think man made “global-warming” is a farce.
I will agree that obese people consume more natural resources than the rest of us.
Lord Vader on Thu, 6th Sep 2007 9:49 am
Global warming is a sham. It is unbelieveable that policies are being put into law regarding this; it goes to show what empty suits we have in government. Hybrid vehicles are environmentally destructive in terms of what it takes to build them. Global warming is another money racket. When will Al Gore show us his monthly electric bill statement? Has Cheryl Crow wiped her ass with one square of toilet paper yet? I know Rosie O’Donnell will never accomplish that. I cringe to think what these “experts” got paid to blow hot air up your ass.
People should stop being such lemmings.