MSN money asks use to to take a moment and imagine if no one in the US were overweight. I lose. I can't do it! I know so few people, myself included, who aren't overweight (they consider overweight to be 20 or more pounds too heavy). However, I'll humor them by suspending disbelief, and attempting to imagine.
MSN says, "add the savings up on health, food, clothing and efficiencies, and you could buy a professional home gym for every U.S. household -- or hand each $4,270 in cash." There would be a total of $487 billion dollars in national savings. Read the article for details on how they came up with that number.
What would you do with your extra $4,270 dollars? I'd definitely go out for lots of fancy dinners with no skimping on the dessert course. Hmm.. that would defeat the point though, wouldn't it?
A fraking amazing Battlestar Galactica cake
Iced Tea 101
Pierogies + cheese + onions + kraut = Parmageddon!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-02-2008 @ 10:22PM
Sofia said...
How does being thinner save money on clothes and efficiencies? I'm definitely more likely to overspend on clothes when I'm in better shape.
Reply
5-03-2008 @ 1:20AM
jrsygir1 said...
one good economic depression/bad growing season and all those skinny people would starve to death. my daughter is a size zero and she is considered overweight for her height and age....those charts are made by insane people.
Reply
5-03-2008 @ 1:51AM
KF said...
The charts are archaic. I recall a wonderful doctor in my early teens, who was trying to quell my mother's fears that I was too heavy according to all the charts and insurance companies. I was a growing teen for crying out loud, wore a size 10 shoe, was getting bustier by the day it seemed liked, and the school nurses said I was 15 lbs overweight. Oh noooo!!! Finally, the doctor pointed out all this to my mother -- what a growing teen does -- and said "Madam, the trunk of tree needs to grow to support the bountiful fruit of its branches."
I still love that man. He calmed her down. Later on I did need to lose that 15 (and a lot more), and obesity has truly become an epidemic in the USA, but still, those charts are just nonsense in most cases. Every body and every fitness level is different and no one chart will work for everyone.
Reply
5-03-2008 @ 3:43AM
Alex said...
While BMI charts might be 'outdated' they are a reasonable guide for most people (please don't trot out the argument that many elite athletes will come out overweight - they're not meant for use by elite athletes). Ideally, you should have your body fat measured as well, as the ratio of muscle/lean meat to fat is important too.
The fact is that most people in most developed Western countries can probably do with losing a pound (or two or three) and will be better off for it.
Reply
5-03-2008 @ 12:40PM
Geena said...
I've probably lost something like 300+ lbs total in my lifetime thus far, the "right way" through diet and exercise fighting what seems to be a perpetual up-hill battle against a weight problem - let me know when they come up with the medical breakthrough to actually KEEP said weight off and I'll be the first person back on the weight-loss bandwagon.
Until then, dieting is more harm then good for the 98% of people who just gain the weight back (and then some).
Reply
5-06-2008 @ 2:19PM
Maggie said...
This is a stupid prospect--the economic impact of nobody being overweight? Imagine the damage to the economy of nobody buying into the gazillion-dollar diet industry! Oh wait, if everyone was within a smaller range of weight, those at the top would still feel the need to lose weight, and probably be told that losing one, two, or three more pounds would be a boon to society. The idea that people who are "overweight" spend more money on food is also ridiculous. It's the food made with poor ingredients that is more likely to lead to weight gain--not the expensive, fresh foods on rich people's tables.
Reply