A "Walkable Neighbourhood" Could Be the Key to Weight Control

People are less likely to be obese if they live in neighbourhoods that favour walking, according to a new study.

Do you live in a “walker-friendly” neighborhood? If yes, chances are that you’re not obese and are probably quite healthy. At least, that’s what a new study claims is true.

The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Utah, also showed that neighborhoods built before 1950 tended to offer greater overall walkability as they more often were designed with the pedestrian in mind, while newer neighborhoods often were designed to facilitate car travel.

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Ken Smith, co-author of the study and professor of family and consumer studies at the University of Utah, said that although individuals clearly make personal decisions that influence their weight, neighborhood characteristics also play a potentially important role in affecting residents' risk of obesity.

"It is difficult for individuals to change their behavior but we can build environments that promote healthy behavior," he said.

Using height and weight data collected by the Driver License Division of the Utah Department of Public Safety, Smith and colleagues calculated the BMI of 453,927 Salt Lake County residents age 25 to 64, linking it to census-block groups via geographical coordinates.

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The study showed that a man of average height and weight (6 feet, 200 pounds) weighed 10 pounds less if he lived in a walkable neighborhood versus a less walkable neighborhood.

A woman of average size (about 5-foot-5, 149 pounds), weighed six pounds less.

"The data show that how and where we live can greatly affect our health," Smith said.

According to the study, during 2003-2004 roughly 70 percent of men and 61 percent of women in the U.S. were overweight.

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The study also notes that by 2030, about half the buildings in the U.S. will have been built since 2000.

Smith said that how this growth occurs would have a significant impact on the environment and on the health of the people living in it.

"We have the opportunity, using evidence-based data on community design, to create neighborhoods that encourage less car driving, benefiting residents' health and wallets and shrinking our own carbon footprint," Smith said.

Neighborhoods with higher percentages of pedestrian traffic, something the study found is associated with less obesity among residents, can serve as models for future residential development and redevelopment.

"Neighborhoods with higher fractions of residents that walk to work tell us that something beneficial about the neighborhood is promoting health," Smith said.

"We expect these results mean that residents find walking more attractive and enjoyable where there are other walkers, a variety of destinations easily accessible by foot and Pedestrian-friendly Street networks. People want to walk when it's pleasant, convenient and when there is a destination," he added.

The study is to be published in the September issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Source-ANI
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