[acb-hsp] Your Neighborhood Is Why You're Fat

[Mmorrowfarrell at aol.com]

We have no car.  We walk or take the bus.  Genetics determines  body type 
more than anything else.
 
 
In a message dated 3/23/2013 11:34:44 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
paltschul at centurytel.net writes:

Your  Neighborhood Is Why You're Fat
And it's also why you're not.   Data shows that there is 
something as important as what you eat to your  overall health: 
how where you live is laid out.
Academic  literature defines an "obesogenic environment" as 
"promoting gaining  weight and one that is not conducive to weight 
lossddb But therebs a  simpler way of putting it: It is a 
neighborhood that makes you  fat.
The developed world is full of them: suburbs where the only  
option is driving, and where stores and recreation are too far 
away  for walking or cycling.  No wonder we have an obesity 
crisis, with a  third of adults, and 17% of children, classified 
as unhealthily  overweight.  It's not all about what we eat.
The good news,  though, is that the opposite is also true.  If 
people have options to  shop and exercise locally, they will take 
them, and health can  improve.  A recent study from Western 
Australia, which surveyed 1,400  people before and after 
relocating to new developments, found that nearby  stores 
increased walking by an average of 5 to 6 minutes per week, and  
that access to a park or beach increased physical activity by 21  
minutes a week.
"The study demonstrates the potential of local  infrastructure 
to support health-enhancing behaviors," says Billie  Giles-Corti 
professor at the University of Melbourne.
Another  study published last year reached a similar conclusion.  
Researchers  looked at neighborhoods in San Diego and Seattle, 
assigning scores based  on walkability, parks, and access to fresh 
fruit and vegetables within  half a mile (access to junk food 
counted negatively).  Children aged  6 to 11 were 59% less likely 
to be obese if they came from a high-scoring  area (the study 
accounted for other factors, such as family  income).
Finally, a recent study from the San Francisco Bay Area  found 
that increasing commuting by walking or cycling from 4 to 22  
minutes per person could cut their incidences of cardiovascular  
disease and diabetes by 14%.  "Increased physical activity  
associated with active transport could generate a large net  
improvement in population health," the researchers say.
The  three studies show the same thing: There's a strong 
relationship between  neighborhood planning and health.  Think 
about that the next time  you're not walking to the store.
Ben Schiller is a staff writer for  CoddExist, and also 
contributes to the FT, and Yale e360.
Copyright 2013 Mansueto Ventures,  LLC.
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