12 Jan 07
Dump that spare tyre. Not that one (although the wheel in your boot certainly is extra weight. Well done, you're thinking green already). No, we're talking about the muffin-top currently threatening to swallow the lap portion of your seatbelt.
A recent study carried out by the University of Illinois calculated that US drivers were burning nearly a billion extra gallons of fuel a year compared to 1960 figures, simply because they've gotten more fat. If everyone shucked a couple of stone, concluded the study, they would save the same amount of fuel over a year as would a three-day strike by every driver.
Of course the average US driver is fatter. Much, much fatter. But even over here an adult male driver accounts for around 10% of the weight of an average supermini, and that's not taking into account the Christmas excess. So of course the engine has to work that much harder.
The only advantage of all our seasonal overeating is that the stored energy will come in handy for push-starting the car when you find you've left the lights on throughout the Christmas break.
