Obesity causes global warming, say scientists
Being overweight is bad for the environment as well as your health, according to a study released today.
Researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found that overweight people were likely to be more responsible for carbon emissions than slim people because they consume more food and fuel.
The study blamed an increased demand for livestock production for meat, believed to be responsible for 20 per cent of all greenhouse gases due to the toxic methane emitted by cows.
They added that a higher dependency on cars was also a contributing factor.
Global warming: Obese people are likely to need more food and fuel, causing more carbon emissions than slim people
The authors, Phil Edwards and Ian Roberts, said: ‘When it comes to food consumption, moving about in a heavy body is like driving around in a gas guzzler.
'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.’
The study found that ‘slim’ nations like Vietnam consume almost 20 per cent less food and so produce fewer carbon emissions than a more overweight population, such as the US, where 40 per cent are obese, the study found.
The researchers estimated that a lean population of one billion would emit 1,000million tonnes less carbon dioxide per year than a ‘fat’ nation of the same size.
In nearly every country average body mass index (BMI) is rising.
Between 1994 and 2004, the average male BMI in England increased from 26 to 27.3, while the average female BMI went up from 25.8 to 26.9 (about 3kg - or half a stone - heavier).
The study appears today in the International Journal of Epidemiology.