Where you live matters to your health

Being active is a big part of staying healthy but where you live can impact how active you are. I particularly notice this when I travel. I’ve stayed in places where I could easily walk to a variety of destinations. But other places I have had to navigate a lack of sidewalks, huge highways, and widely spread amenities. This spring I stayed in a place where my destination was 1 km away but I had to walk 5 km to get there because of the way the roads went and where I could actually cross a major road. If I lived in these less accessible locations it would be much harder to stay active from home.

Koohsari and colleagues (2023) did a study in Alberta, Canada on what neighbourhood characteristics were associated with improved metabolic health. Metabolic health includes blood pressure, lipid (fat) levels, and waist circumference. All of these contribute to things like diabetes and cardiovascular health.

They found that higher home density, connectivity, which is how easy it is to get around in something other than a car, and presence of points of interest which include things like stores, schools, and services, all contributed to improved metabolic health.

From my own experiences this all tracks. I acknowledge that I have a much larger walking radius than many people. This helps me more when I’m traveling compared to at home. At home, the car is right there, so I can resort to driving if it seems like it will take too long to walk. But for some things, I will walk because I can’t justify driving for such a short time. The more places that I can walk to, and the easier it is to do so, the more likely I am to walk.