As the price of gasoline has crossed $4/gallon, there are signs that Americans are changing their habits. SUV sales have plummeted, hybrids and smaller cars are in great demand, and people are beginning to drive less. With this we may well see the end of the American obesity epidemic because a lot of people are going to be doing a lot more walking. They’ll be walking to work or walking to catch the bus or train to work. And a lot of short errands are probably going to be handled by kids on bikes!
Nobody likes high fuel prices and the ripple of higher prices they cause across the economy. But who knows, if people really do slim down, maybe we, as a nation, will get it all back in the lower health costs associated with a healthier populace. And with smaller sized people, maybe we won’t need those giant SUVs anymore!