Lose weight and save money at the gas pump
A little belt-tightening could help Americans save on gas.
Americans are spending more money on fuel these days in part because adult men and women on average are at least 24 pounds heavier than their counterparts were in 1960, a study has found.
Today’s automobiles are burning more gasoline to haul that extra weight around — about 1 billion gallons more annually than they would if drivers today weighed the same as drivers did in 1960.
“What we have here is a relationship that exists between the obesity epidemic and fuel consumption,” said Sheldon Jacobson, a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a co-author of the study.
“Now, does it mean we should all go out and lose weight?
But it does mean that there is a relationship and we should be aware of it.”
The analysis says nothing about the improvements in fuel economy in vehicles since 1960, Jacobson said.
It looks only at how fuel consumption would be different if drivers weighed less.
The average man today weighs 191 pounds, 25 pounds more than in 1960.
The study will appear in the Engineering Economist, a peer-reviewed journal.
-Adam
LOSE WEIGHT, SAVE FUEL (San Jose Mercury News)
A little belt-tightening could help Americans save on gas. Americans are spending more money on fuel these days in part because adult men and women on average are at least 24 pounds heavier than their counterparts were in 1960, a study has found.
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