Beyond the obvious health implications associated with obesity, scientists have concluded that all this excess weight results in a drastic increase in American’s gasoline usage, to the tune of 39 million gallons per year. This study, to appear in the upcoming issue of The Engineering Economist , stemmed from Professor Sheldon H. Jacobson’s (Virginia Commonwealth University) desire to
“quantify the effect of being overweight on fuel consumption. “
Using publicly available data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Jackson determined that the average American had increased their weight by more than 24 pounds between the period of 1960 to 2002. After examining three scenarios to account for both larger drivers and passengers, as well as number of people in the vehicle and their age, Johnson concluded that approximately 938 million gallons of gasoline annually can be attributed to this increase in weight. Based on current driving habits this amounts to
“nearly three times the total amount of fuel consumed by all passenger vehicles each day…”