Is life in the Suburbs making you fat?

I picked up the Brampton Guardian earlier this October and read a special part one of part two feature on whether life in the suburbs are making its residents fat. On the back of an overweight woman standing on a scale between the folds of her skin the message printed on her behind says “Study finds 47% of Peel residents are overweight.” The article warrants our attention for people who live in suburbs or plan on raising their families in the suburbs. Dr. Jason Gilliand, associate of geography and urban development program director at London’s University of Western Ontario said that increased attention to environmental and health related issues have pushed municipal planners to rethink how suburban neighbourhoods are planned. Gillian said that suburban planners are now revisiting the merits of high-density development, which is building vertically. Because of the large availability of cheap land and cheaper gasoline low density planning became the norm in planning. As a result more and more people were getting into their cars in order to purchase their goods.

Another study conducted in San Diego State University revealed that people living in the urban neighbourhoods are twice as likely to be physically active than those in the suburbs. I found it surprising that when people began moving into the suburbs it was regarded as a healthier place to live. I would think that it is common sense that not needing a car to get from place to place requires people to not only use other modes of transportation but simply walking more.

Gayle Bursey, the peel Region’s director of chronic disease and injury prevention believes that modern societies have created ‘obesogenic environments’ or public spaces that discourage people from maintaining a healthy weight. It was suggested that the rise in chronic diseases like diabetes and the excess of 12 millions pounds in Brampton, Mississauga, and Caledon are a result of how planners have built up communities with low mix of land uses and poor road connectivity. I completely appreciate how this article written by Peter Criscione does not blame the person, and instead look critically at how space affects people and how the institution of provincial city planning affects society.