Fatties cause global warming

...or at least that's how The Sun put it! A study has been conducted by researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. It suggests that 'obese populations' contribute more to global warming than non-obese populations. The argument is that this is because obese people consume more food, and the production of that food generates more carbon dixoide. In addition, obese people are more likely to use a car, emitting further carbon into atmosphere, than non-obese people - who are more likely to walk.

Now, I haven't seen the details of this research, only the reports in The Sun and The Guardian, but the study wasn't conducted - as you might think - by investigating what obese people eat or how they live their lives, it was based on a theoretical model of such. In fact, the model claims to represent 1 billion non-obese people and 1 billion obese people. While I suspect that some of the broader principles hinted at in these media reports hold some truth, I am also a little concerned at the validity of the model. Why? Because most obese people in the world live in developed, westernised nations. These countries, like the UK and the USA, have a very different lifestyle and standard of living than less developed countries where most non-obese people live. The problem with this is that westernised nations may actually 'use' more food, not only because they are eating more, but also because we waste much more. For example, look at how many restaurants we have, and supermarkets, that throw away huge quantities of 'waste' food on a daily basis. And to what extent do we use our cars more because we are obese (and lazy, by implication), or is it simply that car usage fits in more with typical western lifestyles - with the stresses and strains of modern living, getting the kids to school on time so two parents can go to work, and do the Tesco shopping on the way home?

The point I am making, is that although there may be some grain of truth in what the researchers say, I would argue that a significant proportion of food and car usage are not directly down to obesity, but instead, because of the indirect effects of our modern, westernised lifestyles.