Can transportation and land use design help address this country’s growing obesity problem?
The broad societal benefits associated with Smart Growth — reduced land consumption, vehicle travel and air quality impacts — are widely reported and well understood. Research now also reveals compelling benefits to individual health, as national studies discover strong correlations between sprawl and epidemic levels of obesity and related health disorders. Obesity has replaced smoking as a critical US social health concern, as indicated in comparative 1963 statistics on smoking and 2003 obesity statistics.
