As the House Energy and Commerce Committee gears up to hammer out an energy and climate bill, a study has been released on just how easy it could be for the world to get greener.

The answer: Be thin.

A study published by researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine found that a population of heavier people contributes more harmful gases to the planet than a population of thin people. The study contends that it takes more energy to transport bigger people and that countries with higher obesity rates produce more greenhouse gases in the production of food.

That's ridiculous.

Yes, obesity is a problem. But the idea that someone who is overweight is bad for the environment is lame at best. For every overweight person who travels, there is a lanky person with too many bags drinking a nonfat latte out of a paper cup. As for heavier people eating more, that is not always the case. Some people are just bigger and fighting against their own genes.

Even if they do eat a lot, who's to say they are consuming any more than the skinny dude who idles in the Taco Bell drive-through on his lunch break? Or the soccer mom with a job and three kids who all have busy schedules and rely on fast food and carry-out a few times a week? Exactly how is their food consumption any greener than that of a heavier person?

I'm not endorsing obesity. According to the Mayo Clinic, about 33.3 percent of Americans are obese. No doubt, it's a problem in our country.

But it's not fair, especially to all those chubbier teens out there, already faced with unrealistic images of beauty, to be stamped as eco-hazards.

Somewhere there's a teenager who is just a few pounds overweight and self-conscious about it. Now she is going to hear about this study and think she is suddenly harmful to the planet.

The assumption that if overweight people lost a few pounds the world would be greener is flat-out misguided. It doesn't change the fact that skinny people everywhere are equally as dangerous to the environment.

I'll offer myself as evidence: I'm a skinny chick who always intends to recycle but rarely does. Hey, I'm working on it.

Let's be honest. There are more of us who aren't living green than who actively are. I just think everyone — thin and heavy alike — can stand to live healthier lifestyles.