Monday, June 16, 2008
Expensive gas: At least we will look better in our bathing suit
Foreign Policy has a little compendium of "reasons to love $4 gasoline," most of which are a stretch ("the mass transit boom" is only good because gasoline costs $4). This one, though, is very intriguing:
What’s happening: Rising gas prices and smaller belt sizes go together, according to Charles Courtemanche of Washington University in St. Louis. His research found that, for every dollar increase in the average real price of gas, overweight and obesity levels in the United States would decline by 16 percent after seven years. His study also attributes the outward expansion of American waistlines between 1979 and 2004 in part to falling prices. Similar research published in the European Journal of Public Health found that European countries with higher gasoline prices tend to have lower rates of obesity.
Why it’s happening: One word: exercise. Bike shops across the United States are reporting record sales, and Britain is even promoting a national “Bike Week” to encourage commuters to ride, not drive, to the office. Not only is two-wheeling a cheaper way to travel, it’s also healthier. Courtemanche’s results show that “the average person walks or bicycles an average of 0.5 times more per week if the price of gas rises by $1.” Another factor he identifies is that cost-conscious Americans are choosing to eat at restaurants less frequently. Indeed, a virtuous cycle could be at work: A study published in The Engineering Economist found that Americans today use nearly a billion additional gallons of gasoline each year, compared with 1960, solely because they weigh more.
All good points. In addition, we are learning that there is a close relationship between the price of petroleum and food, and that it has gotten closer because of rising demand for biofuels. People may eat less simply because food is rising as a percentage of disposable income. While it is a bad thing that the price of calories is rising, people may live longer as a result of it.
6 Comments:
By 
Georg Felis, at
Mon Jun 16, 11:23:00 AM:
Yet another way of turning fryer grease into fuel...
By 
, at
Mon Jun 16, 11:46:00 AM:
Of course, if gasoline were still $1 a gallon we could still eat less. Then we would have even more money to save or invest. I grew tired of people thinking I have to be forced to do the right thing a long time ago.
By TigerHawk, at
Mon Jun 16, 11:54:00 AM:
All true tyree, and all agreed. That said, there are a lot of people who consume at the margin even if they shouldn't, and if some of them get thinner we are better off both financially and aesthetically.
By , at
Mon Jun 16, 01:40:00 PM:
Gas has to get pretty expensive for me to brave NJ traffic on a bicycle.
By , at
Mon Jun 16, 02:40:00 PM:
If food is so expensive, why are all the restaurants so crowded? Food is at a minimum, 5 times more expensive in a restaurant as opposed to fixing it at home. One would think if food was getting too expensive, restaurants would begin to empty out.
By Dawnfire82, at
Mon Jun 16, 05:54:00 PM:
TH: I thought the idea was that people would be getting thinner because they were worse off financially?
"Food is at a minimum, 5 times more expensive in a restaurant as opposed to fixing it at home."
Jesus Christ. Where do you eat?
