Tags: junk science, obesity, science
April 1, 2010 | Mad Science
Since neither of us drive, the only time we’d really considered car safety before this study came out was in the context of maniacal tuk-tuk drivers recreating the chase scene in Ronin or when contemplating just how many clowns could fit into a Volkswagen Beetle. (A much more intriguing version of which would require that it be moving—separating the wheat from the chaff when it comes to these types of records as far as we’re concerned, especially on a hill).
If you’ve adjusted your front seat so that it’s become a backseat in order to get behind the wheel, here is some information that will send your premiums shooting up more than needle day at the Methadone clinic.
Researchers found that obese men, the of the jolly type whose comic hijinks are endured week after week on TV sitcoms, are more at risk when it comes to automobile accidents.
Research was conducted, not by dressing up crash test dummies in fat suits leftover from recent Eddie Murphy films, but by extracting data about injuries and Body Mass Indexes for nearly 11,000 adult men and women involved in frontal collisions between 2001 and 2005. Cheery stuff indeed.
What we learned here is, much like if you take a specimen to the taxidermist and get charged by the square foot—size matters.
However, this is deceptive. It seems that it relates to precisely where fat is stored in men versus women that is a contributing factor (another, less plausible theory is that really obese guys have lead feet and were involved in higher speed wrecks—something we’ll be sure to test out next time we’re drag racing at Hardee’s)
As the Boston Herald so delicately put it, contradicting several centuries’ worth of Sumo wrestling strategizing, ”Extra padding… is not a good thing – not when that padding comes from fat.”
Centre of gravity also plays a key role—something to take note of if your physique is suited to stocking really low shelves.
Does this mean that airbags will be factory-installed at the manufacturing plant equivalent of the Big & Tall store? Will there be a Body Crash Index? Will this result in a switch away from more energy-efficient vehicles to ones that could withstand patrol duty in Kandahar?
We await a heaping portion of seconds in the form of further research.
did they research if fat people perhaps drive more then skinny people?