Your suburb is making you fat
2008-03-16 12:08
Toronto - People may be what they
eat because of where they live, according to a new Canadian
study.
The research suggests people who live in low-income
neighbourhoods have greater access to fast food and less access
to supermarkets where healthier food is available.
"In urban settings, the environment does indeed influence
physical activity and nutrition and body weight," Kim Raine,
the lead author and director of the University of Alberta's
Centre for Health Promotion Studies, said in an interview.
"We consistently found that low-income neighbourhoods do not
have as much access to low-cost, healthy foods and have higher
access to things like fast foods - high-calorie, high-fat
foods at a relatively cheap price per calorie."
Raine said that tax incentives may be needed to lure
supermarkets back to lower-income areas.
The study looked at the roles of the urban economic and
physical environment, nutrition and physical activity in
producing healthy body weights.
The findings are based on more than 350 studies from
Canada, the United States and Australia. The research was
funded by the Canadian Institute for Health Information.
More than half of Canadians are considered overweight or
obese, Raine said.
The research also showed that people who live in middle- or
high-income neighbourhoods were more likely to be physically
active than those in lower-income areas.
Raine said people with healthier body weights tended to
live in more walk-friendly neighbourhoods that have access to
recreational facilities.
Raine said the study also showed a link between suburban
areas, where people must drive everywhere, and increased rates
of obesity and lower physical activity.
"If you're living in a neighbourhood full of cul-de-sacs and
the only services are outside of that neighbourhood, you have to
drive there," Raine said.