Tuesday, August 17, 2010

heavy traffic

CDC reports the following:
  • there's a 1.1 % increase in the self-reported prevalence of obesity between 2007 and 2009 (reportedly this equates to 2.4 million people) - reliable information, no doubt
  • the number of states with an obesity rate over 30 percent has tripled to nine states - guess we're not using the 'clinical' definition
Public health concerns aside, the rise in medical costs associated with the rise in obesity is bigger'n Dallas, but one of the other impacts of this weighty affliction I hadn't considered is that obesity causes more people to buy larger vehicles - d'uh I know. This in turn increases our gasoline consumption since fuel economy decreases as you add more weight to a car (holds true for people or cargo). ...will sort out any Saudi conspiracy another time.
Another discernible gem from their report - there's an increase risk of crashes due to the fact that obese drivers are less likely to 'buckle up' because seats don't fit them - wouldn't this just make them more likely to be injured in a crash as opposed to increasing their risk of a crash?!
Their recommendation? Car makers need to look at the design of their belts to better fit larger people - naturally nanny.

4 comments:

FIREBIRD said...

wonder if Governent Motors will make a 2-seater VOLT with large seatbelts (and no back seat to offset total cargo capability) .....Michelle needs to get on this as soon as she finishes her ice cream cone

Candice said...

Too bad the government can't come up with a special vehicle that's to be driven soley by stupid people. It would feature remote start up, AC, and power windows, but would NOT have breaks or seatbelts.

I'm genius, I'm know.

Hearing Aids said...

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FIREBIRD said...
This comment has been removed by the author.

Amusing Quote for today from the Anti-Nannier