In the new book $20 Per Gallon: How the Inevitable Rise in the Price of Gasoline Will Change Our Lives for the Better
, Chris Steiner claims that an increase in the price of gasoline could go a long way toward reducing obesity rates in America. An excerpt of the book was recently published in Forbes magazine.
, Chris Steiner claims that an increase in the price of gasoline could go a long way toward reducing obesity rates in America. An excerpt of the book was recently published in Forbes magazine.
The amount is hardly nominal: A sustained $1 increase in the price of a gallon of gasoline equals a 10% dip in the nation’s obesity rate--that’s about 9 million fewer obese people clogging up health care systems and costing society (and themselves) money. “The price of gas is a powerful lever when it comes to medical expenses and mortality rates,” Charles Courtemanche [an economist at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro who recently published a study on the topic] says. “There’s a savings in this for all of us.”
Courtemanche found evidence in his data that rising gas prices resulted in more Americans walking and more Americans bicycling. Perhaps just as important, he noticed that, as gas prices increase, people eat out at restaurants less. In addition to more strolling and cycling, people use public transportation more, Courtemanche says, and that, too, burns far more calories than sitting in a bucket driver’s seat, sipping coffee, and flipping through radio channels. People who use subways, buses, trolleys or commuter rail services need to get to and from mass transit stops, and that probably means more walking on both ends. A $1 rise in gas means 11,000 fewer lives lost to obesity-related causes and $11 billion per year saved on health costs, Courtemanche says.He goes on to postulate that the effect might accelerate as gas prices increase beyond $4/gallon. Sounds like yet another good reason for a hefty gas tax.
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