Being overweight is bad for the environment as well as your health, according to a study released today.
Researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found that overweight people were likely to be more responsible for carbon emissions than slim people because they consume more food and fuel.
The study blamed an increased demand for livestock production for meat, believed to be responsible for 20 per cent of all greenhouse gases due to the toxic methane emitted by cows.
They added that a higher dependency on cars was also a contributing factor.
Obesity
Global warming: Obese people are likely to need more food and fuel, causing more carbon emissions than slim people
The authors, Phil Edwards and Ian Roberts, said: ‘When it comes to food consumption, moving about in a heavy body is like driving around in a gas guzzler.
'The heavier our bodies become the harder and more unpleasant it is to move about in them and the more dependent we become on our cars.
‘Staying slim is good for health and for the environment. We need to be doing a lot more to reverse the global trend towards fatness, and recognise it as a key factor in the battle to reduce emissions and slow climate change."
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