From GOOD article When Urban Planning and Obesity Collide by Peter Smith

“Are cities making us fat? After all, research has linked urban sprawl, a car-dependent culture, and even the absence of a sidewalk in front of homes to neighborhoods full of people with higher body mass indexes.

“As the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Risa Lavizzo-Mourey told The New York Times: “The changes to our physical and social environments that have contributed to the epidemic were gradual and have had decades to gain momentum.”

“Now, public health crusaders are working to reverse that. In Louisville, Kentucky, nonprofits have contributed about $4.5 million in grants to establish bike lanes, develop small “pocket” parks, improve traffic patterns, and remake sidewalks.”Design initiatives like these are up against formidable odds: by January 4 each year, food marketing in the United States reaches $100 million, just about the entire annual operating budget of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.”