Here’s a new perspective for struggling Americans to view their higher gas prices. Today (9/11/2007) the Reuters Health News service released an article entitled: “Higher gasoline price seen trimming down Americans.” According to this article, not only will the escalating high price of gas totally wipe out your expendable money for the week, but it will have an opposite advantage of, and I quote: “reduce(ing) obesity by leading people to walk or cycle instead of drive and eat leaner at home instead of rich food at restaurants.” The article goes on to say that an economics doctoral study conducted by Charles Courtemanche at Washington University in St. Louis found that a 13% increase in obesity between the years 1979 and 2004 was attributable to the falling gas prices which occurred during that time period.
I don’t know about you but aren’t you just a little skeptical of this report? The article implies that for every additional dollar increase that we pay in the U.S. for gasoline, the obesity rate would reduce by 15% after five years. Let see . . . . So does that mean that if we end up paying $10 a gallon for gas we will no longer have a problem with obesity in our country?
Is this some kind of weird brainwashing, reverse-psychology propaganda to convince us that the escalation of the price of gas is a good thing for Americans? I don’t think so! If you believe this reasoning, maybe going hungry is also a good thing. I mean, if we can’t afford to eat , we also won’t have an obesity problem, will we?
I’m sorry but this line of thinking, and the fact that someone actually took the time to do a research study which arrived at this conclusion just boggles my mind. What were they thinking?
