Americans try to see bright side of high gas prices
Wednesday, 13 August 2008
WASHINGTON, Aug 12 (AFP): It's hard, anywhere in the world, to be positive about sky-high gasoline prices.
But in the United States, some experts and ordinary citizens are focusing on the benefits of high energy costs to forget about the money pinch they feel every time they fill up their cars or hop on a plane.
One thing they have found is that while high oil prices leave Americans with a slimmer wallet, it could also leave them with slimmer waists as they forsake their cars and take to their bikes, public transportation or feet to get around.
"The theory is that if gas prices go up, people walk or bike more. Or they take public transportation, which requires walking to and from stops on either end," Charles Courtemanche, an economics professor at the University of North Carolina, told the agency.
"Also, people eat out less when gas prices are high, because they would have to drive to the restaurant and they have less disposable income," he said.
And restaurant food is less healthy than home-cooked, he added.
Courtemanche looked at gasoline prices in several US states from 1984 to 2004 to come up with his theory about expensive fuel and obesity. He compared those prices with the average body weight and rate of obesity in each state.
"I found that a permanent one-dollar rise in gas prices is associated with a seven per cent drop in overweight and a nine per cent drop in obesity," he said.
In poundage terms, a one-dollar rise in gas prices was associated with about four to five pounds (1.8 to 2.3 kilograms) in lost weight across the population, his research showed.
High gas prices are also making Americans drive slower, to get better mileage from four-dollar-per-gallon gasoline, or put in far fewer miles than they used to.
A dollar rise in gas prices means four pounds in weight loss-
As a result, road deaths have fallen, the National Safety Council has said.
High gas prices have also raised a call for car-makers to produce more fuel- efficient vehicles, and that would create tens of thousands of jobs, enhance US energy security, and boost local economies, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) said.
But in the United States, some experts and ordinary citizens are focusing on the benefits of high energy costs to forget about the money pinch they feel every time they fill up their cars or hop on a plane.
One thing they have found is that while high oil prices leave Americans with a slimmer wallet, it could also leave them with slimmer waists as they forsake their cars and take to their bikes, public transportation or feet to get around.
"The theory is that if gas prices go up, people walk or bike more. Or they take public transportation, which requires walking to and from stops on either end," Charles Courtemanche, an economics professor at the University of North Carolina, told the agency.
"Also, people eat out less when gas prices are high, because they would have to drive to the restaurant and they have less disposable income," he said.
And restaurant food is less healthy than home-cooked, he added.
Courtemanche looked at gasoline prices in several US states from 1984 to 2004 to come up with his theory about expensive fuel and obesity. He compared those prices with the average body weight and rate of obesity in each state.
"I found that a permanent one-dollar rise in gas prices is associated with a seven per cent drop in overweight and a nine per cent drop in obesity," he said.
In poundage terms, a one-dollar rise in gas prices was associated with about four to five pounds (1.8 to 2.3 kilograms) in lost weight across the population, his research showed.
High gas prices are also making Americans drive slower, to get better mileage from four-dollar-per-gallon gasoline, or put in far fewer miles than they used to.
A dollar rise in gas prices means four pounds in weight loss-
As a result, road deaths have fallen, the National Safety Council has said.
High gas prices have also raised a call for car-makers to produce more fuel- efficient vehicles, and that would create tens of thousands of jobs, enhance US energy security, and boost local economies, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) said.