Sprawl And Obesity: Why All The Fuss?

"The report, Measuring the Health Effects of Sprawl... purports to demonstrate that people living in more sprawling, suburban counties are fatter than people who live in more dense central cities. Accepting, for the sake of discussion, the validity of the results (which I do not), the results fall far short of significant. The Chicago area claims make my point. The researchers suggest that in less-sprawling counties, people walk more, which accounts for much of the doubtfully reported difference in weight. Using their formula, one can conclude that the average resident of less-sprawling Cook County walks approximately 20 minutes more per month (40 seconds per day) than residents in more sprawling Grundy County."