04-22-2009, 12:46 PM
Freak magnet Wrote:⿿I⿿m not sure which came first, people getting fat and driving or the other way around. It is true fat people eat more food than average.I'm sure that motor vehicles have contributed to obesity problems, but it's also true that our town structures, at least in the US, have changed to accommodate a vehicle centered society. We no longer have 'corner markets' that people can easily walk to. Every place I can purchase groceries and household items is at least several miles away, and many people live that way now. Cities and towns have 'business districts' where all of the shopping is, but the people live several blocks to several miles away from those areas.
While I'm sure it's true in some cases, I would say that on a national average, thin people use their cars just as much as fat people. I know that when I lived in NJ, we did own a car, but we used to walk EVERYWHERE (or take a bus every so often). Big cities are just more conducive to walking or public transportation, because everything is closer... not that I would trade living in a more rural setting for living in the city. You couldn't pay me enough.
As for 'fat' people eating more than average... again while I'm sure that's true in some cases, in many cases it is not. I'm not grossly obese, but I am overweight and I probably eat less than many people of a healthy weight. My metabolism just doesn't burn what I do eat quickly enough (though I am gradually losing weight now, mostlybecause of increased physical activity).
People do need to lose weight in general and our society does suffer from the way it has become structured, but to blame 'global warming' on overweight people, is kind of silly considering how small their contribution probably actually is to the overall problem. We have far more to worry about with ALL americans using their inefficient vehicles too much, industrial emissions and the enormous production of C02 from factory farming. Those are the big villains for greenhouse gasses.