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How Our Cities are Shaping Us [INFOGRAPHIC]

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EMBARQ Network
Cloud Gate, a public sculpture in the US city of Chicago. Photo by Marshall Segal.

Cloud Gate, a public sculpture in the US city of Chicago. Photo by Marshall Segal.

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.

     

How Our Cities Are Shaping Us: Urban Sprawl And Its Impact On Our Health
How Our Cities Are Shaping Us: Urban Sprawl And Its Impact On Our Health infographic by chrisyoon.

 

Thank you to Ryan Schleeter for providing the inspiration for this post.