Upsized portions and car-dependence

Parking required, not sidewalk

Jon Boyd, Sep 13, 10.

Planning for walkability could be a method for reversing the deleterious health effects of upsized portions and car-dependent lifestyles, reports Smart Growth America:

After decades of the unhealthy eating habits and car-dependent lifestyles dominant nationwide, National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) Community Planner Dee Merriam is urging cities to help fight obesity and related health problems through smart growth and walkability.

Her presentation at the 2010 Louisiana Smart Growth Summit in Baton Rouge, held by the Center for Planning Excellence (CPEX), illustrated both type of excesses. The average bagel has gone from three to five inches and from 140 to 350 calories; the average bottle of soft drink, from 8 ounces and 97 calories to 20 ounces and 242 calories; and the average burger, from 333 to 580 calories. So-called ‘‘upsize’’ pricing are set to persuade consumers it’s always financially smarter to buy in larger sizes or quantities, she said. At the same time, Americans have become used to living ‘‘without ever getting out of their car and walking across a parking lot, everything from eating to banking to buying liquor, getting a marriage license and paying child support.’‘

To further illustrate her point, Merriam mentioned a developer who cut sidewalks out of his project to keep it within budget. Asked why he didn’t instead remove a few parking spaces, he responded that the law required the spaces, but not the sidewalks. Noting that people able to walk 30 minutes daily five times a week can shed 10 pounds a year, reduce their body weight by 7 percent and diabetes risk by 58 percent, she wished public health officials and planners would always find common language and use urban planning as an efficient and proactive environmental approach to health problems before they worsen and require hospital treatment.