Obesity

Efforts to alleviate urban food deserts has focused on the proximity of healthy food choices as a correlating factor for obesity. However, a new study concludes that price, rather than proximity, has a stronger correlation to rates of obesity.

June 20, 2012 - The Washington Post

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg opened the latest front in his war on obesity with an announcement yesterday that the city plans to ban the sale of large sodas and other sugary drinks at restaurants, movie theaters and street carts.

May 31, 2012 - The New York Times

In a new book out this week, Michelle Obama explores the lessons she's learned while cultivating the First Garden, which has blossomed into a nationwide anti-obesity campaign, writes Marian Burros.

May 30, 2012 - The New York Times

Sarah Henry spotlights "The Weight of the Nation," a new series airing this week on HBO that explores obesity and its enormous economic, emotional, social, and health costs.

May 16, 2012 - Grist

Several case studies from edible city innovators are offered in a new ASLA video that shows how you can transform your backyard, corner lot or rooftop into an urban farm, reports Jude Stewart.

May 12, 2012 - Fast Company

Nate Berg uncovers yet another study matching long commutes to poor health, from low fitness to high blood pressure.

May 9, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Allison Karpyn, Ph.D., director of research and evaluation for the Food Trust, shares her doubts about the overall implications of recent studies questioning the concept of Food Deserts and their connection to obesity.

April 20, 2012 - Next American City

Tim Pittman makes the case that cities can make us healthier – provided we can get out of our cars – and advocates a shift in the conversation about designing cities for people.

April 13, 2012 - GenslerOnCities

Here is a list you presumably do not want to find your city on: the most obese metro areas in the country. Dan Witters breaks down the results that Gallup has recently released as part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.

March 8, 2012 - Gallup Wellbeing

What is the relationship between car travel and health outcomes in the United States? Ariel Godwin and Anne Price challenge the claim that more time in the car decreases your health by looking at the impacts of education, income, and employment rates.

January 16, 2012 - Anne Price

Richard Florida examines the "Geography of Health" in American and why some cities are healthier than others.

January 8, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Driving makes people fatter and less healthy, right? Fanis Grammenos warns planners and urban designers that the answer is not so simple, and misusing the statistics will weaken effective debate.

October 13, 2011 - Fanis Grammenos

Colorado has been heralded as the trimmest state in the country, but NPR reports that residents' weight is still on the rise.

October 7, 2011 - NPR

By all logic, the comic strip character Dagwood should be fat, sick and impoverished due to his gluttonous eating, sedentary habits, and automobile-dependent lifestyle. Blondie should worry about his high blood pressure and clogged arteries [...]

May 4, 2011 - Todd Litman

The Federal Transit Authority (FTA) has been making decisions for years about transit capacity using weight standards from 1962. The FTA is proposing to update the average American from 150 to 175 pounds to better reflect reality.

March 22, 2011 - USA Today

Birmingham, Alabama is creating a new system of open markets that will bring fresh foods as well as more social space for the city's residents.

March 11, 2011 - Project For Public Spaces

An emerging design movement is trying to counteract obesity in American cities.

February 26, 2011 - Fast Co. Design

A study conducted in Illinois has found no correlation between rates of obesity to suburban sprawl, as was previously believed.

February 10, 2011 - US News

Cities across the developing world are dealing more with rising obesity rates as urbanization occurs, reports TheCityFix's Jonna McKone.

January 13, 2011 - TheCityFix

St. Louis' Forest Park is a model of good planning, but inner-city parks are in much worse shape and having an effect on the health of those communities, says a new study.

November 10, 2010 - The St. Louis Beacon