Weight peril for drivers

Put-upon commuters have a new misery to contend with – the drive to work may be making them fat.

American scientists found that for every 30 minutes a motorist spends behind the wheel, their chance of being obese increases by 3%.

The amount of time people spend in their cars affects their weight more than their income, education, gender and ethnicity, researchers in Georgia found.

Some 10,500 people, living in Atlanta, were examined for the study, which appears in the June issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

The study also found that people who lived less than a half mile from shops were 7% less likely to be obese than their peers who had to drive.

Lawrence Frank, who led the study at Georgia Tech, said: “The more driving you do means you’re going to weigh more – the more walking means you’re going to weigh less.”

Participants were studied between 2000 and 2004. Their height, weight and travel behaviour were all monitored.