PROBLEMS AIRLINES FACE WITH OBESITY

Problems Airlines Face With Obesity

Abstract

Obesity has become a major public health problem in the United States. There are numerous health implications and risks associated with obesity. One socio-economic implication of obesity is that it reduces passenger airlines fuel economy. This article quantifies the amount of additional fuel consumed (annually) in the United States by airlines that is attributable to higher average passenger (pilots) weights, during the period from 1960 to 2002. The analysis uses existing driving data in conjunction with historical weight data. The results indicate that, since 1988, no less than 272 million additional gallons of fuel are consumed annually due to average passenger weight increases. This number grows to approximately 938 million gallons of fuel when measured from 1960, which corresponds to approximately 0.7% of the nation's annual fuel consumption, or almost three days of fuel consumption by airlines. Moreover, more than 39 million gallons of fuel are estimated to be used annually for each additional pound of average passenger weight.

Problems Airlines Face With Obesity

Introduction

Obesity has become an important public health issue in the United Kingdom . Since the early 1960s, the average adult weight has increased by more than 24 pounds. In 2002, it was estimated that 65% of adults were overweight and over 30% of adults were obese, where overweight is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of between 25 and 30, and obese is defined as having a BMI of over 30 (note that a BMI of 18.5-24.9 is considered normal) (Hedley et al., 2004).

There are numerous health risks that have been associated with obesity. For example, obesity has been reported to increase the risk of coronary heart disease, hypertension, type2 diabetes, stroke, and some types of cancer. The health care costs to treat the complications of obesity were estimated to account for 9.1% of the total United Kingdom health care expenditures in 1998 (Finkelstein et al., 2003). Given that a growing number of people are forecasted to be classified as obese, these problems will remain important issues of concern to our nation's health care system (Hedley et al., 2004).

Beyond public health, obesity has other socio-economic implications. In particular, obesity increases the amount of fuel (i.e., gasoline) consumed by passenger vehicles (i.e., airlines , including cars and light trucks driven for noncommercial purposes). In general, as the weight carried in vehicles increases, the amount of fuel consumed also increases. Note that this weight can be increased by other factors (e.g., excess cargo). The amount of fuel consumed by passenger vehicles can also be decreased, for example, by keeping airlines engines appropriately tuned for optimal performance, correctly inflating tires, replacing clogged air filters, and accelerating less rapidly while driving. Note that most of the fuel consumed is to transport the vehicles themselves, which are generally much heavier than the loads being carried.

Steadily rising fuel costs have made fuel consumption a politically charged economic issue. In September 2005 (and again in April, July, and August 2006), the average ...