Earth Day: the Surprising Connection to Your Waistline

It’s Earth Day! A day when hybrid cars, recycling, and reusable shopping bags come readily to mind.

All good things to help save the earth!

But there is another surprising thing you could do that would have a huge, positive impact on our planet: losing weight.

The Physics Weight Loss and Saving the Earth

The more we weigh, the more force it takes to move us around. That’s hard on the vehicles we use for travel, causing a decrease in fuel economy. A study published in The Engineering Economist found that as a direct result of the increase in obesity in the United States, we’ll use almost 1 BILLION more gallons of gas this year than we did in 1960.

The cars, planes, buses, and trains we use to move us around have to work harder than ever because we’re heavier than ever.

This situation get compounded by the ubiquitous lack of basic physical activities such as walking. The more people weigh, the less likely they are to travel even short distances in a non-motorized way, such as walking or biking. This contributes even further to the use of cars and the excess fuel consumption that goes along with it.

Eat Less, Move More for a Healthy World

While we eat a lot of food, the lack of nutrients in our standard American diet leads to chronic malnutrition. This triggers cravings and hunger. It’s the body desperate attempt to get you to eat more food to compensate for the nutritional gaps. Therefore, people are driven more than ever to get their fill. The foods people typically eat contains little to no protein, which not only is essential for life but is very satiating (keeps you feeling fuller longer).

In the absence of sufficient amounts of nutrients and quality protein, people inevitably turn foods high in sugars and starchy fillers. Excessive intake of sugars and starchy fillers is directly correlated to weight gain.

It’s all a matter of flipping the switch to stop this cycle. Get rid of the nutritional gaps by eating real meats, eggs, vegetables, cheeses, nuts, non-starchy vegetables and leafy greens. You will find yourself less hungry because you are fueling your body correctly.

As your waistline shrinks, you will find more energy in your step to move more. Walking at least 20 every day is a great habit to get into to help lose weight and reduce waste. The more you walk, the more you will find yourself walking the kids to school or around the block for your lunch or riding your bike more often, doing yourself and the planet a favor.