Is Fat Contagious?

To prove to me that I wasn't fat, my dear husband used to pick me up and spirit me around the room. Alas, he does not do so anymore. In mid-winter, one can secrete a few extra pounds beneath last autumn's tunics and sweater coats, popular for just this reason and now on sale. However, given the IPCC's latest report on global warming, it may soon be bikini season year-round. Not to mention that the groundhog predicted a short winter.

There are two things I can do to counter these alarming trends: Cut calories and carbs—that is, carbon emissions. The average American generates 26.5 tons of greenhouse gases a year. That's quite a lot more than I weigh!

So far, I've been dieting for seven days, and find that losing carbon pounds is a lot faster and more painless. I plugged the TV, TiVo and cable box into a power strip and turn the little vampires off at night with the flick of a switch, saving up to 240 pounds a year. I've replaced four incandescent bulbs with CFLs, saving 220 pounds a year. (For how to choose more flattering, reader-friendly CFLs, see our Light Bulb Product Report). I have gone from hang-drying about a quarter of my laundry loads, all indoors, to double that, losing another 360 pounds a year. By my calculations, that makes a grand total of 16 pounds (of carbon) lost in one week!

Fat is a lot more sticky. In the same time period, I have not lost a pound of flesh. And, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, an estimated 65 percent of American adults—and almost 19 percent of children between 6 and 11 years of age—are overweight or obese. The World Health Organization calls obesity an epidemic. Does that mean fat is contagious?

Yes. The virus that spreads fatness is the marketing of highly processed, caloric foods promoted as tasty, fast—and cheap. While some Americans are willing to pay more for so-called healthier "nutraceuticals" and "pharmafoods" (see "Pharma Foods' Feel-Good Claims" by Brian Howard www.thegreenguide.com/doc.mhtml?i=118&s=functionalfoods), we keep getting fatter and unhealthier. Why? Because we keep eating more, not less, of everything, as Michael Pollan recently pointed out in The New York Times Magazine (1-28-07). As Greg Critser writes in Fatland, Americans eat 200 calories more each day than we did 20 years ago.

To try and burn more calories than I consume, I am combining my two reduction plans by walking two miles a day, instead of taking a carbon-burning bus, subway or taxi. For unavoidables—like that flight to Miami for a quick Valentine's Day getaway—I can purchase an offset for the amount of carbon my share of my flight will burn. So at least I won't gain that weight. I'll think of it as a splurge, like a slice of lemon tart I can work off at the gym. And as my husband knows, there are other ways to sweep me off my feet besides the heavy lifting.

For more info, see:

"Tip of the Week" for how Wendy Gordon is progressing on her goal to drop 7.5 tons in 2007.

For some carbon offset and more weight loss ideas, see:

Our 2006 Earth Day tips www.thegreenguide.com/doc.mhtml?i=113&s=earthday

Water (and energy) saving appliances Product Report www.thegreenguide.com/reports/product.mhtml?id=59

"Cutting Costs in a Fuel Scarce World" www.thegreenguide.com/doc.mhtml?i=110&s=fuel

"Household Tips to Keep Your Health and Savings Intact" www.thegreenguide.com/doc.mhtml?i=110&s=householdtips

"8 Simple Steps to a Green Diet" www.thegreenguide.com/doc.mhtml?i=77&s=gussow1

And read Chef Amy Topel's monthly recipes based on whole foods.

Read more from Worrywart and discuss topics