Report: Overweight people cost the U.S. economy $117 billion each year
by Catey Hill
daily news staff writer
Friday, May 29th 2009, 12:43 PM
Dazeley/Getty
Overweight teenager with fries
Fat people cost the U.S. billions of dollars every year.
Yes, extra flab sets this nation's economy back $117 billion per year, Business Insider reported. Here are the stats:
- About two-thirds of adults age 20 or older are overweight or obese
- Thirty-two percent are obese
- The direct or indirect cost of being obese is $117 billion every year (Office of the Surgeon General)
Overweight individuals also make global warming worse, according to The Sun.
Because food production is a major factor in the CO2 emissions that contribute to global warming, and overweight individuals eat more food, they're a big factor in global warming.
Food production accounts for about one fifth of greenhouse gases," Dr Phil Edwards, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told The Sun.
Moving about in a heavy body is like driving in a gas guzzler, he added.
In fact, a fat person is responsible for the release of more than a tonne more carbon dioxide every single year than is a thin person.
We need to do a lot more to reverse the global trend towards fatness. It is a key factor in the battle to reduce carbon emissions and slow climate change," he said.
http://www.nydailynews.com/money/20...ost_the_us_economy_117_billion_each_year.html
by Catey Hill
daily news staff writer
Friday, May 29th 2009, 12:43 PM
Dazeley/Getty
Overweight teenager with fries
Fat people cost the U.S. billions of dollars every year.
Yes, extra flab sets this nation's economy back $117 billion per year, Business Insider reported. Here are the stats:
- About two-thirds of adults age 20 or older are overweight or obese
- Thirty-two percent are obese
- The direct or indirect cost of being obese is $117 billion every year (Office of the Surgeon General)
Overweight individuals also make global warming worse, according to The Sun.
Because food production is a major factor in the CO2 emissions that contribute to global warming, and overweight individuals eat more food, they're a big factor in global warming.
Food production accounts for about one fifth of greenhouse gases," Dr Phil Edwards, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told The Sun.
Moving about in a heavy body is like driving in a gas guzzler, he added.
In fact, a fat person is responsible for the release of more than a tonne more carbon dioxide every single year than is a thin person.
We need to do a lot more to reverse the global trend towards fatness. It is a key factor in the battle to reduce carbon emissions and slow climate change," he said.
http://www.nydailynews.com/money/20...ost_the_us_economy_117_billion_each_year.html
