Americans are burning nearly 1 billion more gallons of gasoline each year than they did in 1960 because of their expanding waistlines. Simply put, more weight in the car means lower gas mileage.
Using recent gas prices of $2.20 a gallon, that translates to about $2.2 billion more spent on gas each year.
My memory was jogged by this ninme post tackling the chicken-and-egg question: does pollution cause obesity, or does obesity cause pollution? She links to a funny article about excuses for being fat, but the funniest comment is hers, following the "slow metabolism" excuse:
having your house heated to precisely body temperature thereby negating the need for a metabolism at all
Heh.
