QUALITY: Curb Obesity, Walk Down Memory Lane

When was the last time you walked from home to the market? The hardware store? Your office? Can't remember? Your subdivision may be a few decades too young.

A study to be released in the September issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (and cited in today's New York Times), found that people who live in older neighborhoods appear less likely to be overweight. The key is walkability. The researchers surveyed more than 450,000 residents of Salt Lake City, UT—examining which communities' environments encouraged residents to drive less and walk more.

According to lead author Dr. Ken. R. Smith, from the University of Utah, each extra decade in a neighborhood's age corresponded to a 13 percent drop in the risk of obesity for men, and 8 percent for women. Not only did old neighborhoods have better, tree-lined sidewalks, they also have places to go —parks, schools, and restaurants. As Dr. Smith says, most people "want something to walk to."

As we all know by now, obesity (and the additional chronic diseases linked to it) is a growing and costly burden on our health care system (especially for the uninsured—check out our post from earlier today). We've also begun to examine the role of diet, culture, and childhood fitness in managing obesity in our society.

The Salt Lake study is just a snapshot but it illustrates local influences on health, and should give us something to think about as we manage growth and sprawl and development in a future with high energy costs. So save your gas and take a page from simpler times—take a walk.