The more we drive, the more we weigh: study

It’s something most of us can relate to doing on a daily basis, but according to a new study, driving your car instead of walking may be having a larger affect than you thought, literally.

A new study from south of the border shows American’s growing love-affairs with their vehicles are resulting in an ever-expanding national waist-line.

Although it’s technically an American study, author Sheldon H. Jacobson, a professor of computer science at the University of Illinois, says the results could easily apply to Canadians as well.

“I think it’s a problem that is prevalent where automobiles are such an important part of our daily life,” Jacobson said. “Certainly it’s true in the United States, I believe it will be true to a considerable degree in Canada.”

The study looked at annual vehicle miles travelled per licensed driver as a surrogate measure for a person’s total sedentary time – which helped show a solid connection between car usage and the jump in obesity rates.

“If for example, each driver in the United States drove one-less mile per day – we would see a drop in the obesity rate by a little over 2 per cent,” Jacobson said.

Jacobson points to the fact that when you sit in a car you are literally doing nothing for your health, and should you be eating at the same time, the effect is even worse. He says the fact that our society has become based around the automobile is to blame.

“Our societies have been built around the automobile – we see that in the United States as well as in Canada, and a consequence of that which people did not see, is the fact that we’ve grown heavier,” Jacobson said. “The fact of the matter is, these are societal issues we have to look at.”

The full results of the study are published in the Journal of Transport Policy.