Bad urban planning may be responsible for the obesity of children
The number of obese children in the United States has doubled in the past 30 years â€" only 8% of young people between 12 and 19 years have recommended time of daily physical activity. Research shows that some factors are genetic, or linked to the habit, but one of the least explored areas has to do with what surrounds the body and not necessarily what you ingest.A group of researchers at the University of California, in the United States, wanted to ascertain whether the design of the neighborhood can shape the activity and people's health. For this, they measured the children's activity levels of a community with smart growth (quiet neighbourhood, green areas, compact construction, variety of transport, etc.), compared to the children's activity levels of conventional suburban communities. Connecting GPS and accelerometers to belt loops of 386 children accompanied their activities every 30 seconds â€" 120 times per hour â€" during a week.After the analysis of the results, the researchers realized a significant difference: the neighborhood kids with smart growth showed activity levels 46% higher than those of other children living in rows of post-war housing.According to Fast, the team estimated that Coexist, living in well-designed communities, children are susceptible to win 10 more minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity around their homes.Still, overall levels of activity between the two distinct communities were similar. "This means that parents and children who live in these communities should be involved in conventional physical activities outside their neighborhood," says Michael Jerrett, main author of the article.The results support the idea that the design of neighbourhoods can play an important role in health. Jerrett argues that physical activity in communities with smart growth is fairer: "while maintaining physical activity on site, free of charge, people aren't going to be economically unable to participate."Photo: under Creative Commons license
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