What does urban planning have to do with overweight? In preliminary studies, those areas that have a mixture of residential and commercial use are more conducive to healthy weight. In other words, if there is a corner store within walking distance, for example, those living nearby are more likely to walk - instead of drive there. The same goes for public transportation; if there are bus stops within easy walking distance, people are more likely to forgo a personal automobile and get more walking in during the course of a day.

Researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and several other groups funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences are studying the issue of how the urban environment can contribute to obesity in an effort to come up with ideas that may impact the nation’s obesity epidemic in the future.