Is obesity really a factor in global warming?

I've been looking up research for a piece about obesity as an eco-issue and was curious what other people thought. Last April a slew of pieces went viral when that study came out from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, which noted, "Because food production is a major contributor to global warming, a lean population, such as that seen in Vietnam, will consume almost 20 percent less food and produce fewer greenhouse gases than a population in which 40 percent of people are obese... Transport-related emissions will also be lower because it takes less energy to transport slim people. The researchers estimate that a lean population of 1 billion people would emit 1.0 GT (1,000 million tons) less carbon dioxide equivalents per year compared with a fat one." *Source

Throughout the last few years many people have wondered if fat is a global / eco-issue. Some have flat out said it is.

In a moment across the pond, Sir Jonathan Porritt, former Green Party politician and a chief green adviser for the gov, noted that "fat is a climate change issue" pointing out that, "Overweight people eat more protein-rich food such as beef or lamb, which is responsible for producing greenhouse gases because of the toxic methane livestock emits... obese people are more likely to use cars rather than walk or cycle, therefore producing more carbon emissions." To which Dr Tim Lobstein, director of policy at International Association for the Study of Obesity, agreed with but also noted, "You cannot blame fat people for global warming - that is just victimisation - but there is a problem with food policy that has encouraged over-consumption and is spoiling the environment." Another opinion: The NYT - Is Being Overweight a Climate Problem?


Anyhow, much of the research + opinions on this topic rehash the same stuff over and over - some saying yeah obesity is an actual environment issue and others saying don't blame people for global warming issues just because they're overweight. 

I'm wondering what other people think. For the last few years I've written about the health implications of obesity for various clients, but I've never really looked at the eco-slant. When you consider meat, transport, and food policy it does seem like obesity could be an environmental issue and health issue.

What do you think? AND more importantly, does it even matter? People go green or live greener because they've made a choice to and it's the same with weight loss. I'm not sure that one issue will actually affect the other in the grand scheme of things. Like if everyone says, "lose weight to help the planet" I don't see how it would help. So far a ton of health organizations, gov initiatives, and media outlets have said people should lose weight for health yet people weigh more now then ever so shading the issue green, when health risks don't even change people seems useless.

So, should we consider obesity an important eco-issue or not? 

I read a post recently and they guy who wrote it noted that there tends to be two trains of thought when people think of obesity....


I see it as a lifestyle choice like smoking. Not 100% across the board (but nothing is ever 100%). I think it's insane to not hold people accountable - like the doctor you mention above. Especially when people are so quick to judge other habits people have like smoking. Recently President Barack Obama signed the law to allow the FDA to regulate the tobacco industry. Its authority includes the ability to ban certain products like cloves and fruit flavored cigs. While I'm not a smoking advocate it astounds me that so much is being focused on banning cloves when no one is banning or taxing soda, fast food and such. Obesity related deaths are quickly catching up to smoking deaths in the U.S. At schools, at the stores, everywhere I go, I don’t see kids smoking cloves but I do see plenty of overweight little kids. 1 in 3 small children are overweight or obese. 

It really hit me when I saw Supersize Me because the guy in that movie noted something like everyone will tell a smoker to their face to stop smoking but no one will tell someone who is overweight to quit eating or to quit feeding their kids fast food.

People have very different ways of dealing with bad habits in this country. Fat, vs. smoking, vs. drinking, and so on are all treated differently and it seems the approach taken with overeating is to call it a medical condition or treat it with kid gloves. The main reason this bothers me is because of kids health. When I was a kid you just did not see as many overweight kids, and now it seems like half (maybe more) of my son's peers are so overweight they can't even run around and play successfully at the park and it makes me feel so bad for those kids.

In that respect there are green aspects that pop up, like a lack of safe green spaces to play in, but I think I'm still more on the side of obesity being a health issue first and an eco-issue secondary.

That moustache fact is crazy, but like Russ said, I guess it makes sense - once you add up a billion of anything it gets extreme.

Right now we already are paying more for obesity related health care. A new study that came out this summer from Research Triangle Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the health cost of obesity in the United States is as high as $147 billion annually.

According to the study, all annual medical costs related to obesity increased from 6.5 percent in 1998 to 9.1 percent in 2006. The figure of $147 billion includes payment by Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers, and includes prescription drug spending. If you break it down, the study notes that people who are obese spent about $1,429 each per year on medical care, which is a whopping 42% more than people of average weight spent.

Because of these large costs to the economy the CDC did issue a new set of evidence-based recommendations meant help communities tackle the problem of obesity through programs and policies that promote healthy eating and physical activity.

The report, “Recommended Community Strategies and Measurements to Prevent Obesity in the United States,” along with a companion implementation guide, appears in CDC’s MMWR Recommendations and Reports. A companion implementation guide is also available on the CDC Web site.

I remember when I could eat any old thing and not gain extra. After having my son, I have to actually watch what I eat and exercise.  I hate formal exercise but like hiking and skateboarding and biking. But plain working out makes me bored. I can't just put in a tape and work out because I start yawning.