fat guy2According to research published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine in December, 2006, teenagers living in the suburbs are more than twice as likely to be overweight than children living in cities. An earlier study showed that adults living in the suburbs tended to be more overweight than those living in cities.

The study linked suburban sprawl to obesity in children; the greater the sprawl, the more obesity. It makes sense. People in cities walk more. In the suburbs people have to drive everywhere. Many suburbs don’t even have sidewalks. Work, school, shopping and other destinations are farther away than they are in the city, so people spend more time in their cars. Because of the long distances traveled, they tend to have less time for exercise. Also, there is a tendency for many people to eat junk food in the car.