The Climate Co-benefits of Obesity Reduction

Rising obesity rates may contribute to greenhouse gas emissions both directly through increased food production and indirectly through higher passenger weights and increasingly sedentary lifestyles. Using panel data for the fifty US states over the period 1997 to 2011 we examine the relationship between the obesity rate and carbon dioxide emissions from energy use. Results indicate a positive and significant relationship, holding population, affluence, sectoral composition, and other factors constant. Specifically, we find that reversion to 1997 obesity rates (from 2013 levels) nationwide could reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions from energy use by 143 million metric tons, or approximately 2.8 percent of annual US emissions. This reduction yields annual climate benefits of between $5.7 and $8.9 billion using EPA estimates of the social cost of carbon. We suggest that policies directed toward obesity reduction have the potential to generate significant climate co-benefits alongside the well-known health benefits. JEL Classifications: Q54, I12,