Gas at $40/gal = Slim Jim

The more gas prices rise, the less obese we will become. The silver lining has been there all the time, but our double chin obstructed the view. Here's the scoop: Rising Gas Prices Could Cure Obesity. From the story:


Courtemanche says a $1 increase in the price of gasoline could cut the obesity rate by 10 percent, saving 16,000 lives and $17 billion in health care costs each year. He makes the case in "A Silver Lining? The Connection Between Gasoline Prices and Obesity," his doctoral dissertation in health economics. The paper, currently being peer-reviewed, can be summed up in the simple idea that people walk more, bike more and dine out less when gas prices rise.
Evidence suggests he's on to something.
Courtemanche compared 20 year's worth of government health surveys to fuel prices. The percentage of American adults considered obese doubled to nearly one-third between 1979 and 2004, and Courtemache says 8 percent of the increase can be attributed to low fuel prices. "Cheaper gas during that period made us fat," he told Wired.com. "Presumably, the opposite would be true."

TK: He's right, of course. The classic good news/bad news bit... gas is $14 per gallon but you are finally losing weight. Where would we be without American optimism?