Ask the residents of Oklahoma City what's helped them collectively lose 750,000 pounds since 2009 and decrease their risk of heart disease, diabetes and more, and they'll tell you: community. Many towns and cities across the country are starting to realize that not only do individuals need to change their lifestyles in order to solve this nation's obesity crisis—our surroundings need to change, too.
"If you don't live in a healthy environment, being told to lead a healthier life is like having your doctor write a prescription that can't be filled," says Sarah Strunk, director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities Active program, which has awarded $200,000 to 25 towns and neighborhoods across the nation who are retooling environments that foster poor food choices and inactivity. "Families won't choose healthy meals if fast food is cheaper and easier to find. Kids can't walk to school and adults won't try biking to work or taking walks on the weekends if there are no bike paths, walking trails or sidewalks."
The notion that your environment plays a large role in your health is backed by a growing stack of research. According to Pennsylvania State University researchers, towns that invested just $10 per resident in parks and recreational activities saw girls and boys become more physically active. In another study, researchers found that those living in "highly walkable" areas of Baltimore and Seattle racked up an extra 35 to 45 minutes of activity and were less likely to
"Right now, it takes a lot of effort and planning to get daily physical activity. And we're surrounded by so many unhealthy foods that overloading on calories, unhealthy fats, added sugars and sodium is pretty hard to avoid," says David L. Katz, MD, MPH, Director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center and founder of the Turn the Tide Foundation, which sponsors programs that help make communities healthier. "It's not enough to cultivate the desire in people to lead healthier lives. We have to make it possible by changing the world we live in."
And that's exactly what's going on across America. Here's how three communities have made those healthy changes happen—and practical ways you can bring their inspiring changes to your community.
Sari Harrar is an award-winning health and science writer whose work has appeared in numerous publications.