Gaining Weight

Two reports by a farmland conservation group and the federal disease prevention agency provide clear evidence of sprawl's unhealthy consequences. Lifestyles that are almost completely dependent on motors and wheels greatly reduces the opportunity and the inclination for people to do something as simple and healthy as walking. While a diet rich in fats and high in calories is what's been putting on the pounds, the sprawling lifestyle’s inherent lack of physical activity makes sure they stay. The result: we're the heaviest people in America, and it’s costing Michigan billions of dollars in added health care expenses.