People living in activity-friendly areas are influenced to exercise more, a new study suggests.
Researchers from UC San Diego found that neighborhood design helps promote health among its constituents. Activity-friendly neighborhoods that have more walkable areas, parks and public transit could reduce the chance of residents to suffer from obesity and other sedentary-lifestyle related diseases.
In the study published in the journal The Lancet, the researchers described their findings on the critical role that neighborhood design plays in promoting physical activity and boosting over-all wellbeing. An estimated 5 million deaths per year could be attributed to lack of physical activity that is why the researchers believe that providing healthier communities could help curb obesity, which is now considered a global epidemic.
More than 6,800 people between the ages of 18 and 66 years old across 14 cities in 10 nations were included in the study. They're part of the International Physical activity and Environment Network (IPEN).
The cities who were part of the study spans from Ghent in Belgium to Curitiba in Brazil, Olomouc in Czech Republic, Bogota in Colombia, Aarhus in Denmark, Hong Kong in China, Christchurch in New Zealand, Cuernavaca in Mexico, North Shore, Waitakere, Stoke-on-Trent in the United Kingdom and Baltimore and Seattle in the United States.
To compare the neighborhood designs of the cities, they mapped out the entire neighborhood focusing on residential density, the number of intersections between streets, number of parks, land use, nearest public transport points. Accelerometers were used to measure the movements made by each participant.
Findings show that the people living in areas which are populated, has walkable areas with interconnected streets and shops, more parks, and public transits, had about 90 minutes of physical activity per week, which is equivalent to 60 percent of the total 150 hours recommended for optimal health.
"We studied neighborhoods ranging in socioeconomic-status and culture. Those built with more activity-supportive environmental features had residents who did more physical activity," James Sallis, lead author of the study, said.
"For example, transit access is a requirement for living a lifestyle that is less car-dependent and more active because it increases walking to and from the transit facility," he added.
The team believes that their study will help governments, cities and countries to design residential areas with a healthier plan. This includes providing walkable areas to promote exercise.
"Design of urban environments has the potential to contribute substantially to physical activity. Similarity of findings across cities suggests the promise of engaging urban planning, transportation, and parks sectors in efforts to reduce the health burden of the global physical inactivity pandemic," the researchers concluded.
Photo: Yuya Tamai | Flickr
