Does Sprawl Make Us Fat?

Ant writes "A Science News article talks about the relationship between city design and health. New cross-disciplinary research is exploring whether urban sprawl makes us soft, or whether people who don't like to exercise move to the sprawling suburbs, or some combination of both." From the article: "So far, the dozen strong studies that have probed the relationships among the urban environment, people's activity, and obesity have all agreed, says Ewing. 'Sprawling places have heavier people... There is evidence of an association between the built environment and obesity.' ... However, University of Toronto economist Matthew Turner charges that 'a lot of people out there don't like urban sprawl, and those people are trying to hijack the obesity epidemic to further the smart-growth agenda [and] change how cities look.' ... 'We're the only ones that have tried to distinguish between causation and sorting... and we find that it's sorting,' [says Turner]. 'The available facts do not support the conclusion that sprawling neighborhoods cause weight gain.'"

the future is now

[macadamia_harold]

Fat, yes. Not to mention stupid. I know some very intelligent, down-to-earth city folk, but I swear most of them live just outside the realm of reality.

Yeah, well, not all of us were able to get into Costco law school like you and your elite friends.

Re:Sprawl DOES makes you fatter

[QuantumG]

When I say "at will" I mean "without effort".. which is pretty much the standard definition of "at will".

For example, my employment contract is "at will". If they don't wanna pay me anymore they tell me and stop paying me. If they had to "change their lifestyle" to stop paying me, that wouldn't be "at will".

Re:Sprawl DOES makes you fatter

[flyingsquid]

Anyway, the failure of town planners is going to work out by itself in the end. As oil prices skyrocket & people in the suburbs grow fatter, the solution become obvious. Liposuction clinics combined with gas stations ;-)

I have an even better idea: instead of gas, we can use biodiesel, made from animal fats provided by those liposuction clinics!

All i can say is,

[mattydont]

Put down the fork!

Does sprawl make us fat? It depends...

[Kohath]

Does sprawl make us fat?

I guess it depends on how much sprawl you eat.

A better question: If part of my body sprawls, am I fat?

New Documentary

[SmlFreshwaterBuffalo]

So, does this mean Morgan Spurlock [supersizeme.com] now needs to film a documentary in which he lives in the suburbs for a month?

Re:Sprawl DOES makes you fatter

[MobileTatsu-NJG]

"Note to moderators: it's insightful the first time, it's redundant the millionth time."

I, for one, welcome our redundant overlords!

(Pls don't mark me as foe, I'm just testing your theory.)

Re:Obvious

[hab136]

chicken fried steak and gravy on a bed of iceberg lettuce covered with Kraft Singles and ranch dressing.

I am intrigued by your recipe and would like to subscribe to your cookbook.

no...does it make me LOOK fat?

[6ame633k]

Does this shopping mall make my ass look big?

Automated response

[Joebert]

No dear, your ass looks fine.

Re:Sprawl DOES makes you fatter

[Joebert]

Damn hippies.

Yes, It's True.

[Hercules Peanut]

Also a little known fact that birds flying south cause cold weather.

Re:Sprawl DOES makes you fatter

[GMC-jimmy]

It's probably just fried Sprawl that's so unhealthy. I'd be willing to bet that baked Sprawl is better for your heart.

Seriously, I always believed that _how_ one chooses to live contributes to their health more than where.