Airline Costs Increase Because of Obesity

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Lightening the Load, Flying the fatty skies

I've talked a lot about the high "cost" of obesity — in terms
of lives lost, in terms of dollars spent by hospitals to
accommodate the obese, in terms of climbing insurance rates
and the increased burden to Medicare, and so on and so forth.
But the real-world impact of America's 35% and climbing
obesity rate (65% of us are merely "overweight") is making
its presence felt in many ways you'd never expect,
including...

Increased airfares.

Yep, we've gotten so fat that airlines have to factor in our
extra bulk when budgeting for fuel costs. And in the wake of
9/11, when fewer people than ever are flying (and not to
mention the skyrocketing cost of the fuel itself), this extra
expense is really forcing the major airlines to tighten their
belts — if their passengers won't, that is. In fact, most
airlines have reported steady losses in the last few years
because of rising fuel costs.

According to a recent Associated Press article (every other
major news outlet reported on it, too), the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention reports that Americans have gained
an average of 10 pounds apiece since 1990. This extra
"luggage" has forced airlines to spend more than $275
million in fuel costs to ferry us around — and this is just in the
year 2000! Since 1990, that figure is likely more than $3
billion.

What's this mean? It means when we fly, we're all paying
extra to ship the millions of tons of excess human cargo
sitting next to us.

The impact of this extra fuel isn't just fiscal, either.
According to the article's sources, the 300 million gallons of
extra fuel burned every year lugging around our largeness has
had a significant impact on the environment, as well —
releasing an estimated 3.8 million tons of harmful gasses into
the atmosphere annually! And this is just from aircraft
emissions. Who knows how many millions of tons of
needless extra pollutants buses and cars are belching out
hauling our bloated selves around?

Hmmm. Maybe "Breathe cleaner — get leaner!" or "Save the
whales — stop being one!" will become the new mantra of
the environmental crowd.

But hark, there's hope! A selfless, benevolent drug company
with a "nose" for fighting obesity may be coming to the
rescue (oh, hooray!)...

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Snorting the solution to obesity?

Fresh on the heels of its Vioxx disaster, beleaguered drug
giant Merck is putting a lot of its eggs (if only their drugs
were as good for you as eggs) in the fat-fighting basket — by
launching a multimillion-dollar partnership with another drug
maker to bring an anti-obesity drug to market.

According to an AP report, spokespersons for the partnership
said the compound could not only successfully combat
obesity, but also reduce related health problems such as
diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and cancer.

Oh, wow, a drug that cures everything! I've never heard
THAT before.

What's the "hook" with this new chemical wonder? Instead
of a pill, you simply spray a few squirts of this "Holy Grail"
obesity drug up your nose before every meal. The active
compound in the drug, a peptide called YY-36, supposedly
makes the stomach feel full faster, in turn slashing a patient's
caloric intake by making them push the plate away before
they've eaten enough to make them any fatter.

Never mind what's on the plate — which is the REAL
problem in the war against obesity. If people would only pile
their plates with healthy meats, eggs, cheeses and such
instead of breads, pastas, and desserts, there'd be no need for
appetite-suppressing nasal inhalers at all!

If they really wanted to help eliminate obesity (and promote
good nutrition), Merck and partners should develop a drug
that makes people crave these healthy foods instead of
tricking their systems into feeling full.

Now there'd be a drug I might actually get behind.

Traveling light and saying what's right,

William Campbell Douglass II, MD

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