Does Sprawl Cause Obesity? Maybe Not

University of Toronto economist Matthew Turner, who has released a study arguing against the link between sprawl and obesity, "acknowledges that in the last three years, roughly a dozen studies have taken statistical snapshots of where people live and how heavy they are--most reporting that people who live in sprawling neighborhoods tend, on average, to be fatter."

"'It's widely observed that people are heavier in sprawling neighborhoods than in non-sprawling neighborhoods,' Turner says. But, he adds, it doesn't mean the sprawl is to blame."

"He points out (as do, for that matter, the authors of these earlier studies) that the studies can't prove that living amid sprawl leads to obesity because they are just snapshots and don't report changes over time."

"'There are two possible explanations,' he says. 'One is that sprawling neighborhoods cause people to be heavy. The other is that people who are predisposed to be heavy are attracted to sprawling neighborhoods.'"