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Your old neighborhood may not be so passé anymore when we talk of health and your risk of obesity. That's because University of Utah researchers have found a special kind of gold mine in certain older neighborhoods.
Compared with newer neighborhoods that encourage the use of a car to go to and fro, pre-1950 neighborhoods are more densely populated and walkable. A grocery store and other shops may all be within walking distance. The personality of the neighborhood may also, in itself, be an incentive to walk.
The study found that people living in older neighborhoods are less likely to be on the heavy side. The data linking the body mass index of nearly a half-million Salt Lake County residents between 25 and 64 years of age shows some marked differences, depending on where they live.
For example, a 200-pound, six-foot-tall man weighed 10 pounds less if he lived in a walkable neighborhood. A five-foot-five woman at 149 pounds weighed six pounds less.
The U's Family and Consumer Studies group says its study should encourage neighborhood designs and layouts that are pedestrian friendly, that discourage the overuse of a car. Researcher Ken Smith says residents find walking "more attractive and enjoyable where there are other walkers and destinations accessible by foot."
Many people living in the older neighborhoods say they want to walk because it's pleasant and convenient.
Smith says it's difficult to change lifestyles, but he hopes the U's study will serve as a model for the building of future neighborhoods.
E-mail: eyeates@ksl.com