tictac

Brisbane's Courier Mail reports:

Your neighbourhood could be making you fat and putting you at a higher risk of diabetes, colon cancer and breast cancer.

A University of Queensland study has found that living in the outer suburbs increases the risk of obesity. Part of the problem was that people in outer suburbs lived in so-called McMansions and had to drive everywhere because walking, cycling or public transport was not an option.

Instead, they spent more time watching television than exercising.

The findings are another blow for suburbanites, with previous studies showing people in outlying areas are affected far more by higher oil prices, rising interest rates and car dependency.

Professor Neville Owen, who oversaw the study, said suburbs such as Forest Lake, southwest of Brisbane, showed how good design could get people walking and riding around the streets.

"But even at Forest Lake to get anywhere else you have to drive," Professor Owen said.

"The big thing is people become habitually dependent on the automobile.

"It would seem that how a community is planned has a great bearing on physical activity and therefore the health of the people in that community."

He said healthier suburbs allowed for walking and cycling and were designed so there was a connection between the streets, rather than having cul-de-sacs.

Although all the data generated by the study was still being collated, Professor Owen said it was clear that urban sprawl was a major health issue.

"You are in a house that takes up most of your block and in a suburb where you have to use your car a higher proportion of your time," he said.

The result was that many people ended up either driving or "flopped in a couch in front of a plasma television".

"The problem we have in public health is we thought the problems were because of a lack of exercise, but it's really too much sitting," he said.

"It's not just that people have less opportunity to walk, but they have more opportunities to flop in a couch."

He said too much sitting switched on body mechanisms that increased the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Planning Institute Australia state president Dyan Currie said the study showed urban sprawl was not necessarily the best planning choice. She said better health could now be added to the benefits of good planning.
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/s...-23272,00.html


Pretty accurate article IMO.

Tricky to get out after work if there's nowhere to walk to; anything half-decent is miles away and the streets are pitch black. The street lighting where we are is about as much use as 'fag end'.

Ever likely most people hibernate in front of a 50" plasma

newjersey

I would come to this conclusion first before anything else, size of the house relative to the block size or driving everywhere - what does that have to do with anything. Most of the population found their TV being their best friend and spend every spare minute in front of it. If there was less TV watching, you'd spend more time socializing and doing more walking-exercising as a result. Instead we are being zombied by international corporations GAAH!

NJ

PS> my fav comedy is on in 5, bbl

temptininnit

I've spoken to my local MP about developers etc and he has a constant battle with them about them cutting corners and trying to put as many houses on a site as possible with few facilities.

Unfortunately in oz in most cases the $ rules.