Chicago, IL -- If you've got too much junk in the trunk, you're likely to be paying for it at the pump: The fat, sausage-fingers of the obesity crisis are dipping into the wallets of motorists who are packing on the pounds.

Oil and gas expert Howard Simons, a former economics professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology, claims it's a matter of simple physics.

Simons says as body mass increases, the force required to move the fat bodies must increase. For example, a two percent increase in mass would require a two percent increase of fuel.

Dan Kahn, Road Test Editor at the Edmunds.com car buying guide agrees, saying his numbers show that motorists driving 2004 model cars on average pay $1,310 annually in gas. His data shows that each additional 100 pounds being pulled around will cost those drivers $13 more a year.

The cost may not seem like a lot, but Kahn says older models may fair worse, and that a family of obese passengers can pile up the petroleum charges pretty quickly.

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