Temperatures Rise as Waistlines Expand
Scientists explain how our weight and our food system contribute to climate change

“For every pound the average American is overweight, we use an additional 938 million gallons of gasoline per year.”

America’s climate change crisis and obesity epidemic aren’t often linked, but Dr. Sheldon Jacobsen is just one of a number of experts who believe both problems can be attacked at the same time.

Dr. Jacobsen, a professor at the University of Illinois, also says the amount of gas burned is “enough to fill 2 million cars with gasoline every year.”

He explains further in the documentary “Killer at Large” that it’s a simple matter of physics: The heavier you are, the more energy it takes to move you in your vehicle. And, it takes a lot of gas to move that extra food around the country.

New York Times bestselling author of “The Omnivores Dilemma”, Michael Pollan, explains in “Killer at Large”, “We don’t often think about climate change in relation to food, but indeed it’s one of the easier ways to address the problem.” The American food system consumes almost 20% of the fossil fuels used by the United States (almost as much as personal transportation) when you account for all the chemical fertilizers, food processing, packaging, and shipping the food across the country. “A strawberry is four calories. It takes ten calories of fossil fuel energy to get it to you.”

Simply getting out and walking would help. Bryan Young, producer of “Killer At Large”, says, “We took a look at a lot of communities for our film and found that those who had the most aggressive health policies were working hand-in-hand to make their cities more walkable and bike-friendly and to make driving your car as unattractive as possible. Sommerville, Massachusetts, actually brought the average weight of the town down, got more people biking and walking and less people driving. It was great.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is currently considering public promotion of the “co-benefits” of combating obesity and climate change through exercise interventions.

Find more about the film “Killer at Large” at: http://www.killeratlarge.com

Related Links:

CDC Policy on Climate Change and Public Health: http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/climatechange/

Michael Pollan: http://www.michaelpollan.com

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