Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Car Culture

Eat More Carbohydrates, Burn More Hydrocarbons

suv_fatty.jpg
A forthcoming study by Sheldon H. Jacobson at the University of Illinois suggests that Americans' expanding waistlines have significantly increased the amount of fuel we burn.

Americans are now pumping 938 million gallons of fuel more annually than they were in 1960 as a result of extra weight in vehicles. And when gas prices average $3 a gallon, the tab for overweight people in a vehicle amounts to $7.7 million a day, or $2.8 billion a year.

Jacobsen's study has been mentioned in several news stories lately. The Washington Post quotes him as saying:

If people decide as a nation to get healthier and lose weight and be fitter, not only will we have a healthier country but we're actually going to reduce our dependence on foreign oil very covertly, simply because we're going to be using less.

Time Magazine mentions the study as well in this week's Low Carbon Diet story:

Some people have decided that the way to help fight global warming is to put their daily consumption of energy on a strict diet... The Spencer family devised a new commute plan that enabled her husband and her daughter to ride their bikes to work and school. A new study even suggests that a traditional diet may be good for a carbon diet; the report, to be published this month in The Engineering Economist suggests that people who are overweight burn more gas when they drive.

Photo: Robertbaertsch/Flickr

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Kirsten Gillibrand Trots Out Bogus FDNY ‘Toxins’ in Quest to Weaken Congestion Pricing

Gillibrand's solution to potential toxins in the subway is more automobile toxins in the air.

February 4, 2025

Memo to Mayor Adams: Reliable Buses Start with You

Congestion pricing’s success and legacy depends on improving bus service. Mayor Adams must act.

February 4, 2025

Toyota Attacking Sustainable Transportation (Even More Than You Think)

The world's largest automaker has been ramping up spending to put climate change deniers in Congress, and crushing support for all kinds of sustainable modes in the process.

February 4, 2025

A Child Went For a Walk on a Rural Highway Alone. His Mom Got Arrested For It.

Should parents — or the state? — be liable when their children walk on dangerous roads?

February 4, 2025

Tuesday’s Headlines: Is Congestion Pricing Finally … Popular?

Earth to President Trump: Don't cancel congestion pricing! Plus other news.

February 4, 2025
See all posts