Times Health writer Rosie Mestel reports that,

in a letter published Friday in the medical journal Lancet, two scientists write that obese people are disproportionately responsible for high food prices and greenhouse gas emissions because they consume 18% more food energy due to their greater body mass — and require increased quantities of fuel to transport themselves and the food they eat. “Promotion of a normal distribution of BMI would reduce the global demand for, and thus the price of, food,” write the authors, Phil Edwards and Ian Roberts of the evocatively named London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

Ms. Mestel immediately questions the validity of the claim and wonders if similar logic could place the blame on individuals with high metabolisms who consume increased amounts of food to maintain their active lifestyles, which many would call healthy.

Like so many articles, the real fun starts when readers’ comments begin. Here, they range from wholeheartedly agreeing with Phil Edwards and Ian Roberts, to expressing frustration at the silliness of the study and diversion of focus away from real issues such as sustainable energy sources, to fat-bashing then back to enviro-bashing. It’s all pretty fascinating. Once fingers start pointing and assigning blame, one might as well be playing spin the bottle – you never know who will end up on the receiving end.

What do you think about the “study”’s conclusion? Does our weight have any correlation to our environment? Does our body mass affect global warming, or, as one commenter posits, does global warming affect our body mass?

Many thanks to Alicia from Mental Health Notes who shared this article.

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