Fight Global Warming AND Weight? It's a Win-Win!

According to an Associated Press article by Seth Borenstein, there might just be a link between America's obesity epidemic and global warming! Experts suggest that people can fight them both by cutting calories and carbon dioxide simultaneously.

The article states: "Get out of your car and walk or bike half an hour a day instead of driving. And while you're at it, eat less red meat. That's how Americans can simultaneously save the planet and their health, say doctors and climate scientists."

Although unlikely to happen, the payoffs could be huge. One calculation indicates that if all Americans between the ages of 10 and 74 walked a half hour a day in place of driving, annual U.S. carbon dioxide emissions, the chief greenhouse gas, would be cut by 64 MILLION tons. That translates into about 6.5 BILLION gallons of gasoline saved and Americans would shed more than 3 BILLION pounds overall!!! Now those are big numbers!

According to Dr. Howard Frumkin, director of the Centers for Disease Control's National Center for Environmental Health, "A simple intervention like walking to school is a climate change intervention, an obesity intervention, a diabetes intervention, a safety intervention." Wow, that's called getting some bang for your buck!

The CDC is considering promoting the "co-benefits" of attacking global warming and obesity-related illnesses through everyday exercise (such simple things as walking to school or work).

For my family, walking to school or work is out of the question, as it is for many Americans. For those of us who live in rural areas, there is no mass transportation we can tap into, and a ten-mile walk to school or work is not feasible. At least not practical for most. (However, I do have a friend who rides his bike nine miles to and from work each way during the summer months - his workplace has showers available for its employees!) So changing our daily activities to make an impact on our health AND environment might be: commute to work with neighbors - walk to the neighbor's house to catch the ride; once in town for shopping, park in one place in a plaza and walk to all the stores instead of getting in and out of the car to drive short distances; buy in bulk to save on trips to town, and then store food in basements - where retrieving items takes effort by climbing stairs, etc.; or get permission from school districts to have a central bus stop for the children instead of stopping at each individual driveway - children can walk to the central bus stop within a reasonable distance.

Need any more incentives to improve your health? Get creative today!