If you want to lose weight, move closer to your food:
A new study from the University of British Columbia shows people who live within a kilometre of a grocery store are half as likely to be overweight, compared to those living in neighbourhoods without grocery stores.
But the study’s author, the esteemed Larry Frank, notes that grocery stores are only part of the story.
“It’s a marker for other commercial uses, as well, so it’s not just grocery stores that matter.”
Frank’s research has consistently shown that people who live close to a mix of stores and services tend to walk more. So the lesson here isn’t to move closer to a grocery store. Instead, we should be looking to foster mixed-use neighborhoods, where more and more people can do some of their errands on foot, rather than being forced to drive for every trip.
