Urban design with pedestrian-friendly amenities helps children to engage in physical activity preventing the risk of childhood obesity. Convenience stores in the neighborhood can help in healthy food choices.

‘Children who live in a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood, engage in regular physical activity and select healthy food choices can have a reduced risk of overweight or obesity.’

There is one unexpected outcome: In their research, the authors found that BMIs were lower in neighborhoods with a convenience store. These results demonstrate the importance of fine-tuning the analysis, particularly by taking into account the type of food sold in fast-food outlets and convenience stores. A study on the food environment in Saskatoon published in 20161 showed that children with access to high-quality food at low prices, at any type of grocery store located within 800 m of their home, had a lower risk of being overweight. This could also be the case in Montreal.




The research team analyzed and compared data collected two years apart among children in Montreal with a family history of obesity and who lived at the same address for the duration of the follow-up.
Other ongoing studies are documenting the transformations residential neighborhoods have undergone in the last ten years to assess how much these transformations have affected the risk of obesity.
Source-Eurekalert