Anyone like Snappers missus who has visited the US in recent years cannot fail
to have observed the gross obesity which prevails in the general population
over there.

As one who has been forced to sit by obese sweating Americans intruding on my
personal space on busses and planes I can well relate to the following. Forbes
cites government statistics to say that "the average weight of an American has
increased 24 pounds since 1960."

Writer Emily Stewart then does the math: Airlines flew 735 million passengers
last year. Multiply that by 24 pounds and airlines are flying 17.6 billion
pounds of extra weight around. It takes roughly a gallon of jet fuel to move 100
pounds on a domestic flight. That means 176.4 million gallons of fuel, costing
$538 million (at an industry average price of $3.05 a gallon)

Last month, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
came out with another report, in what has been a parade of dire warnings about
obesity in the United States. In a study published in the July issue of Obesity,
they concluded that unless our eating habits or exercise habits change, 86
percent of the American population will be overweight or obese by 2030. More
than a third of American adults—over 72 million people—were obese in 2005 and
2006, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The obese are more
susceptible to an array of health problems, such as hypertension, type 2
diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Widespread obesity also means that today's
children may even have a shorter life expectancy than their parents.

But poor health isn't the only way Americans pay for all that extra weight,
there's also a hefty financial price attached. Here are the top five costs
associated with obesity:

1. Lower wages: Stanford University researchers found that obese men and women
earn, on average, $3.41 per hour less than their peers.

2. Fewer work hours: On average, obese workers tend to lose a week of work a
year due to ailments related to their weight, according to the National
Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

3. Higher medical costs: Overweight males incur medical costs that are $170 more
annually than their leaner co-workers, while overweight females incur costs $495
higher than their counterparts, Finkelstein and Zuckerman write.

4. Extra air travel costs: Budget airlines such as Southwest require obese
people or people who may take up more than one seat to buy an adequate number of
seats on the flight.

5. More gasoline: Obviously, more weight burns more gasoline in cars, too. A
2006 study published in the journal The Engineering Economist found that
Americans pumped 938 million more gallons of fuel a year than they did in 1960
because of their heftier frames. That adds up to roughly $3.55 billion in
increased annual gas expenditures nationwide.

More at http://www.newsweek.com/id/153309

And for our US friends travelling downunder who just cant help themselves we
have a Krispy Kreme Donut franchise located conveniently next to the Sydney
domestic terminal.

Ned