Gas prices have settled a bit in the past few months, but with the cost of a gallon still lingering well in the two-dollar range, many Americans are looking for ways to save a few bucks at the pump. But what if you are happy with your current car and don't want to be a new one that's more fuel efficient? One new study suggests you dump your spare tire.No, not that spare tire. The one around your waist. This new study suggests that Americans are burning nearly 1 billion more gallons of gasoline every year because of the extra weight we're are toting around. At $2.20 a gallon, that amounts to $2.2 billion wasted on gas each year. "If a person reduces the weight in their car, either by removing excess baggage, carrying around less weight in their trunk, or yes, even losing weight, they will indeed see a drop in their fuel consumption." This from study co-author and University of Illinois researcher Sheldon Jacobson.
Jacobson points out that the lost mileage for any single driver is pretty small. Even by losing 100 pounds, the average driver would only save about $40 a year over a typical 12,000 miles. But it adds up when you consider how many motorists are on the road. Other research, including Centers for Disease Control and Prevention studies support these findings. In a related study, the CDC found that heavy fliers have contributed to higher fuel costs for airlines.
The study will appear in the October-December issue of The Engineering Economist, one of those academic/industry journals published by the American Society of Engineering Education and the Institute of Industrial Engineers. Dr. Jeffrey Koplan, former CDC director points out that although valid, the study conclusion is only partially helpful: "The wrong fuel is being focused on. If you're heavier, the most important fuel you use more of is food."
[Source: Yahoo! News]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
cFoo @ Oct 26th 2006 8:07PM
Our big 3 already have a solution to the problems. Put V8 in everything. Build bigger SUVs to haul our fat asses. Our fat population will eat and polute the core out of this poor planet.
graff @ Oct 26th 2006 8:16PM
My scientific findings indicate that a tubby Kansas soccer mom feeding her 4 tubby kids McDonald's for dinner 3 nights a week in her squeaky, dirt-free Excursion isn't helping her power to weight ratio for her truck. If she replaces her flabby arms and buttocks with ones made of carbon fiber, significant gains will be made. Furthermore, if she shaves off a few extra pounds by replacing her 3 chins with a lighter aluminum jawframe, the power to weight ratio will be further improved, and gas mileage will be more palatable.
qaz @ Oct 26th 2006 8:18PM
Fat people are DESTROYING THE ENVIORNMENT. Government should tax these fatasses. Think twice before you stuff that Big Mac in your face.
chriseh @ Oct 26th 2006 8:30PM
Wow, and this is a new revelation, that fat people use more fuel.
I think they use more of everything on this planet. That's why they're fat, it's everything to the extreme ...so maybe Ford and GM won't go out of business?, since these fat people will need big fat SUVs to haul their big butts around!
Bob @ Oct 26th 2006 8:39PM
Oh please. I bet you're all tanks.
And this really is a pointless study. Ya know how much more gas we'd save if people drove, say, 1mph slower on the highways? I hate these studies that split hairs.
That One Person @ Oct 26th 2006 8:48PM
Well DUH!
Obese people make me mad. They bitch and moan about how unhealthy they are but watch some of them and what they eat (I know there are people who cant exactly help their weight) I have seen grossly overweight people order enough McDonalds for themselves to feed a family of four. The people that make me laugh are the ones that sue Burger King or McDonalds for making them fat. Get a freakin clue!
But it would be interesting to see how much fuel would be saved if the whole nation ended up being within their target weight ratio (cant think of how to explain it).
ATL @ Oct 26th 2006 8:52PM
Somebody has way too much time on there hands or are wasteing money on this. Give the money to the fat kid!!!!!!!
smooth sailin @ Oct 26th 2006 8:53PM
They shouldn't let short people buy large SUV's.they don't need the headroom.Short people should drive small cars to help save gas.the government should subsidize sales of SUV's to tall people only so they wouldn,t be cramped in dangerous small people cars.Fat people should drive small cars until they lose weight then they should be allowed to drive big cars and SUV's unless they re short.
Petey @ Oct 26th 2006 8:59PM
Its not just fatties burning more fuel while driving, fatties are also less likely to do stuff like walk, even its walking to the bus stop.
Mommy is always driving jr to school and such cause hes not willing to walk ..which burns fuel enroute and contributes to his fattness which just compounds the problem.
GhostDoggy @ Oct 26th 2006 9:08PM
Shoot, I ride a van pool. That van has a tank with less than 40-gallons while my pickup is 26. So, instead of hauling my butt to and from work, I ride with 11 others on the van. Ok, so instead of one person consuming 26 gallons a week, 12 people consume 40.
I bet the skinny person not in a vanpool is consuming more than the average person on a vanpool. BTW, I'm 60-pounds over what someone else thinks my ideal weight should be and I'm not the largest on the van.
And let's look at it another way. For a 4500 pound SUV how is an extra 100-pounds making all that much impact? So, if I drive a 4400 pound SUV I'm ok?
chuck goolsbee @ Oct 26th 2006 9:26PM
Fat people actually fuel my car!
I run my VW Jetta TDI on waste veggie oil from a hamburger place. Keep eating those french fries folks!
--chuck
iQuack @ Oct 26th 2006 9:38PM
To all the fatties out there, whenever you're thinking of raiding the refrigerator:remember that line from Raging Bull about killing yourself with food
vectorbug @ Oct 26th 2006 9:39PM
No fat chicks or my ride will scrape.
dave @ Oct 26th 2006 9:39PM
get a look at the whole picture. the underpowered, undersuspended, thin metal, no room, asian cars of today can't handle the mass of us americans. or maybe you like dragging your frame on the road, or not being able to merge on the interstates unless they rebuild them a mile long. so the solution; dump the corolla and get a suburban. that way we can still get the big mac's and roll over the corolla's.
iQuack @ Oct 26th 2006 9:50PM
"12. To all the fatties out there, whenever you're thinking of raiding the refrigerator:remember that line from Raging Bull about killing yourself with food"
-----------------
My Goodness! The delightful link I posted above was edited out. What ever happened to freedom of vulgar speech? ;-).
Mark @ Oct 26th 2006 10:08PM
Forget the reduced mileage caused by our collective over-weightness; what about all the pizza delivery people running around town delivering food to the fatties, 24/7?
United Artists @ Oct 26th 2006 10:08PM
I knew it!
epp_b @ Oct 26th 2006 10:09PM
*ahem*
Let me me say this is plain and simple English that cannot be misunderstood.
DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
["Fat people actually fuel my car!
I run my VW Jetta TDI on waste veggie oil from a hamburger place. Keep eating those french fries folks!"]
Thanks, that gave me a good laugh!
Chris @ Oct 26th 2006 10:16PM
Personally, I think most people on the road are wasting gas by just being on the road. I could do away with almost all of them and be perfectly happy. As long as the sexy laddies at the coffee shop get there on time, we're good.
Mike Razpezdaev @ Oct 26th 2006 11:04PM
I think fat folks are really missing on a lot when it comes to cars, I am not fat but even I had difficulty fitting into Mazda RX8,( I am 150LB 5'6) also on the Auto shows I sat in all those small sporty coups, I have to say I had difficulty getting into them. So the fat people are really missing out on a lot of fun when it comes to driving, so please stop belittling Hondas and Minis simply because you can not fit into one.
Also the reason American car makers make BIG cars is not because we have big families, but DUHHHHHH because each kid now needs his own row. Not to mention the wife who needs to pick up her two chins just to move the third one and get up.