Pounds and the Pump Here's another reason to lose a little weight: it can improve your gas mileage.
Researchers at the University of Illinois reported that Americans are burning 938 million more gallons of gasoline a year than they did in 1960. Driving habits alone didn't explain the difference - and a little more digging revealed why.
In 1960, the average American man weighed 166 pounds and the average American woman weighed about 139. In 2002, those averages had shot up to 191 and 164, respectively - 25 pounds more!
Granted, the impact of any one person is small, even with dramatic weight loss. One researcher estimated that someone who lost 100 pounds would use roughly 18 fewer gallons of gas over the course of a year.
But when you add it all up over the whole U.S. population, it's significant. Especially considering that the U.S. obesity rate has doubled in the last few decades. 938 million gallons of gasoline! That's enough to fill almost two million cars for a whole year.
I don't want to get into politics here, but I think we can all agree that it would be a good thing for our country to reduce the amount of gasoline we consume. It would also be a good thing for our country if all of us kept our weight under control - treatment costs for obesity-related conditions are crippling our healthcare system. Hey, let's start a new campaign: weight loss is patriotic! Here's a place to start: try walking places instead of driving. The exercise will help you lose the weight faster, and you can start realizing gas savings right away.
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 There are times when medical news is too urgent to wait until the next issue, so Dr. Alan Inglis keeps in touch with you through House Calls.
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