Obesity Linked to Newer, Less Walkable Neighborhoods

By Richard Shank

Researchers at the University of Utah recently linked Body Mass Index (BMI) data to the 2000 Census for nearly half a million Salt Lake County residents. They found that residents were less likely to be obese or overweight if they lived in walkable neighborhoods. Walking to Meaningful Destinations

A walkable neighborhood is most likely to be located in more densely populated areas designed for pedestrian use, and offer a wide range of walkable institutions (i.e. post office, shopping, health care, etc). These neighborhoods were most likely built before 1950, prior to the trend toward suburbanization which saw the rise of haphazardly-developed and poorly-planned subdivisions.

Neighborhoods built since that time are less likely to have sidewalks and more likely to function as residential containers that do not integrate commercial and civic institutions into the daily life of residents. Even those residential areas with sidewalks typically have no meaningful destination, often coming to an abrupt stop at the outer edges of the neighborhood. Thus, these residents are more likely to be bound to their vehicles in order to access grocery stores, schools, entertainment, etc.

Researchers utilized the height and weight data collected by the Driver License Division of the Utah Department of Public Safety and calculated the BMI of the residents between the ages of 25 and 64. Then, they linked these data to the census-block groups. In order to protect confidentiality, all personal identifications were stripped from the Driver License Division prior to the researchers’ acquirement of the data.

On average, a man weighed 10 pounds less if he lived in a walkable neighborhood versus a less walkable neighborhood. The average woman weighed six pounds less. Furthermore, the researchers found that walkable neighborhoods with higher pedestrian traffic were less likely to have obese residents.

This research suggests that the way our environment is built can influence our physical health. By 2030, it is expected that nearly 50% of all buildings in the U.S. will have been built as recently as 2000. More often that not, this development has occurred without regard to pedestrian-friendly living. As a consequence, these researchers recommend carefully considering utilizing behavioral data in order to drive community development.

Further research is needed to determine how the structure and walkability of our communities plays into the personal choices that impact the risk of obesity and its associated chronic conditions. It is clear that sedentary lifestyles and food consumption patterns play a primary role in obesity, and yet we know very little about how the design and structure of our communities determines the types of decisions that facilitate these unhealthy habits. Future research must attempt to outline how community design can be used to facilitate healthy living.

Source: Ken Smith, Barbara Brown, Cathleen D. Zick, Jessie X. Fan, Lori Kowaleski-Jones, Ikuho Yamada. (In Press). American Journal of Preventative Medicine 36.

Like the new format? Tell us what you think: askaia@matherlifeways.com