[NiHaoMike]

Originally Posted by 89HF

hey, 20 lbs is 20 lbs. On a Geo that's over 1% of the total weight of the car. Think about how much our fuel efficiency might go up if we all went on a diet! For that matter, it would be interesting to estimate the annual fuel savings of our nation if we reduced obesity...maybe Obama should put that in his energy plan, state of the union coming up

Being thin reduces resouce comsumption, global warming - CleanMPG Forums
The economic impact of obesity on automobile fuel consumption. - Entrepreneur.com

This article studies the economic impact of obesity on passenger vehicle fuel consumption. Three cases are used to quantify passenger weight in a vehicle, given a driver and a number of non-driving passengers. The results indicate that nearly one billion additional gallons of fuel are consumed annually in the United States as a result of average passenger weight increases since 1960. This is nearly three times the daily amount of fuel consumed by passenger vehicles in the United States. This amount is a conservative lower bound on the total amount of fuel consumed across all modes of transportation due to increases in average passenger weight, since passenger vehicle travel accounts for approximately 67% of the total amount of fuel consumed by the transportation sector (U.S. DOT, BTS, 2006).

One consequence of the increasing prevalence of obesity is that it partially offsets improvements in fuel economy and other initiatives designed to reduce fuel consumption. For example, in March 2006, the Reformed CAFE standards were announced, which set a fuel economy target of 24.0 mpg for model year 2011 light trucks weighing more than 8500 pounds (Mineta, 2006). Prior to this, there had been no fuel economy standards for light trucks weighing more than 8500 pounds, a highly visible loophole in the CAFE standards. By closing this loophole, more than 250 million gallons of fuel are expected to be saved annually. However, this analysis shows that these fuel savings are completely eliminated by an increase in fuel consumption due to an average weight gain of 6.4 pounds for people living in the United States. Increases in passenger weight can also partially offset improvements in fuel economy due to vehicle maintenance. For example, a vehicle's fuel economy can be improved by 4% by keeping the engine properly tuned, 10% by replacing clogged air filters, and 3% by keeping tires properly inflated (US DOE & EPA, 2006).

"I wish I was more skinny like Allie Moore... for more MPGs!"