How Our Cities Are Shaping Us: Urban Sprawl And Its Impact On Our Health

HOW OUR CITIES ARE SHAPING US URBAN SPRAWL AND ITS IMPACT ON OUR HEALTH HAVE WE DESIGNED OUR COMMUNITIES IN SUCH A WAY THAT WE ARE CONTRIBUTING TO THE OBESITY EPIDEMIC AND OTHER HEALTH PROBLEMS? %3D A THING OF THE PAST 71 percent of parents of school aged children walked or biked to school when they were young. only 18 percent of their children do so. UNSAFE CROSSING Physical surroundings can be a contributor to weight gain when nothing is within easy walking distance: houses are far from any stores, or businesses. In addition, wide, high-speed roads are perceived as dangerous and unpleasant for walking. THEN NOW +6.3 POUNDS THE DIFFERENCE IN WEIGHT BETWEEN AN AVERAGE PERSON FAT LIVING IN THE MOST SPRAWLING COUNTY VERSUS THE MOST COMPACT (GEUGA COUNTY, OHIO VS. NEW YORK CITY) HYPERTENSION NEXT EXIT SPRAWL AND CHRONIC DISEASE 65% of the adult population is overweight and almost one in three people is obese. In the past 25 years, the portion of children 6-11 who are overweight has doubled, while the portion of overweight teens has tripled: now 15 percent of children and teenagers aged 6 to 19 are overweight. Comparing the most and least compact places, the odds of having high blood pressure were 29 percent lower. SOURCE: PEW RESEARCH, MEASURING THE HEALTH EFFECTS OF SPRAWL: A NATIONAL ANALYSIS - - - -