Supersized drivers: does fat cause global warming?

• Author: Bailey, Ronald
• Position: Researchers at the University of Illinois' report - Brief article

FAT PEOPLE are responsible for global warming! Or so claims a study by two researchers at the University of Illinois in the October/November Engineering Economist. Industrial engineer Sheldon Jacobson and his doctoral student Laura McLay report that our cars and trucks are burning more gas per mile to haul our larger carcasses about the planet.

Since 1960, Americans have gained an average of 24 pounds. As a consequence, the researchers calculate, we burn nearly a billion gallons more gas than we would if we trimmed down to our Eisenhower-era weights. More gas means more emissions, and more emissions...