How Our Cities are Shaping Us [INFOGRAPHIC]
Have we designed our communities in such a way that we are contributing to the obesity epidemic and other health problems? The infographic designed by Chris Yoon (below) asks this question and illustrates some of the findings from a recent Pew Research study entitled, "Measuring the Health Effects of Urban Sprawl: A National Analysis." Some of the findings include these eye-opening figures:
71% of parents of school-aged children walked or biked to school when they were young, whereas only 18% do so now.
+6.3 pounds = the difference in weight between the average person living in the most sprawling county in the US vs. the most compact (Geuga County, Ohio vs. New York City, New York)
The odds of having high blood pressure were 29% lower for residents of compact cities.
65% of the adult population in the United States is overweight, and almost one in three is obese. Over the past 25 years, the portion of children, age 6 to 11 who are overweight has doubled, while the portion of overweight teens has tripled. 15% of teenagers 6-19 are now overweight.
Thank you to Ryan Schleeter for providing the inspiration for this post.