Need another reason to lose weight? It could save you some gas money.

In an article published in Newsweek, citing a study done at John Hopkins, our country's propensity towards extra poundage has upped our need for gasolone and jet fuel.

According to the studies cited, the extra weight passengers carried in the 90s (as opposed to earlier decades) resulted in an additional $275 million cost in jet fuel and an additional 350 million gallons of it burned. Now that's a lot of fuel.

Not a flyer? Well, the same cost increases were seen in gasoline usage, estimating an extra toll of 938 million gallons of gas pumped over the course of 45 years due to heavier people.

The thing I love about this study, is that it really is about weight. If you've read any of my stuff, you know that I scoff at "weight loss" because that alone seems like such an insignificant goal. I am all about fat-loss and achieving a healthy lifestyle. BUT, this time, the cost is incurred because of weight alone. So, whether you're a 350 pound rock-hard American Gladiator (did anyone see the Beast?), or you're a 350 pound overfat individual, America's heft is weighing us down.

Now some of this was just inevitable. We are getting taller as a country, so with height, comes weight. But, it does seem like its time for us to look at the costs we're incurring on our wallet, and on the environment, when we add on pounds. And its not like this is limited to America. I mean, industrialized nations are all packing on pounds. England, France, China, even Japan, are all recognizing that their collective waists are expanding, and as that happens, their fuel usage is expanding, too, taking one heck of a toll on the environomics pocketbook.

So if you weren't convinced before that America needs to slim down, maybe you will be now. Our environment & our wallets could use the help.