Next time you slug down a Big Mac or two consider the fact that the cost you pay at the pump may also be contributing to your high blood pressure.

Americans are now pumping 938 million gallons more of fuel annually than they were in 1960 as a result of extra weight in vehicles. A lot is attributed to additional electronics and safety features, but a good proportion is the good old blubber factor.

When gas prices average around $3 a gallon, the tab for overweight people in a vehicle amounts to $7.7 million a day, or $2.8 billion a year. Now wonder convenience store’s in gas stations are filled with hot cheese nachos, Twinkies, and Slurpies.

A big oil conspiracy?