Keeping slim is good for the planet, say
scientists
Monday, April 20, 2009
Maintaining a healthy body weight is good news for the environment,
according to a study which appears today in the International
Journal of Epidemiology.
Because food production is a major contributor to global warming, a
lean population, such as that seen in Vietnam, will consume almost
20% less food and produce fewer greenhouse gases than a population
in which 40% of people are obese (close to that seen in the USA
today), according to Phil Edwards and Ian Roberts of the London
School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine's Department of
Epidemiology and Population Health.
Transport-related emissions will also be lower because it takes
less energy to transport slim people. The researchers estimate that
a lean population of 1 billion people would emit 1.0 GT (1,000
million tonnes) less carbon dioxide equivalents per year compared
with a fat one.
In nearly every country in the world, average body mass index (BMI)
is rising. Between 1994 and 2004 the average male BMI in England
increased from 26 to 27.3, with the average female BMI rising from
25.8 to 26.9 (about 3 kg - or half a stone - heavier). Humankind -
be it Australian, Argentinian, Belgian or Canadian - is getting
steadily fatter.
'When it comes to food consumption, moving about in a heavy body is
like driving around in a gas guzzler', say the authors. 'The
heavier our bodies become the harder and more unpleasant it is to
move about in them and the more dependent we become on our cars.
Staying slim is good for health and for the environment. We need to
be doing a lot more to reverse the global trend towards fatness,
and recognise it as a key factor in the battle to reduce emissions
and slow climate change', they conclude.
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London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Thanks to London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine for
this article.