Study: Living in the Suburbs Can Make You Sick

[hadrons]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Living in the suburbs may have once been part of the American dream but it can lead to nightmares such as high blood pressure, arthritis and headaches, researchers reported on Monday.

An adult living somewhere like Atlanta, with its spread-out suburbs and car-heavy culture, will have a health profile that looks like that of someone who lives in Seattle -- but who is four years older, the study found.


And the culprit seems to be exercise, or the lack of it, the researchers report in the October issue of the journal Public Health.

....

It defined sprawling suburban areas as those with poorly connected streets such as cul-de-sacs, separated areas for schools, housing and shops and a lower population density.


The most extreme examples included the Riverside-San Bernardino region of California, Atlanta and Winston-Salem, North Carolina.










http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040927/hl_nm/health_sprawl_dc

[rkc3]

1. Don't forget the possiblity of living next to four bush supporters.

I have to be careful not to hurl when I pull out of the driveway past the bush signs in my neighbors' yards.

And to think I shared beers with these guys throughout the summer.

[Eurobabe]

4. that was my post too...

seems to be a rampant dis-ease in the suburbs.

[K8-EEE]

2. Also It Can Make You STUPID

Judging from the way they vote. Can they do a study on how mental retardation gradually takes hold from sitting in an SUV 2 hours a day burning gas and listening to am talk radio?

How then sitting in an easy chair in your gated I-Don't-Know-Anybody "community" getting your news from Fox makes you so stupid that your entire world view boils down to your own property values and declining taxes?

One thing I'm so sick of here in L.A. is them building McMansions out in the natural firebelts which is why we have these horrific fires and then the Ahnold voters want their teeny-tiny goverment to put out the fires and fix everything.

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. Poor Community Development is responsible.

You actually have to drive to recreational areas. You even have to drive to dog parks. You have to drive everywhere because of poor community development. Too many residential areas without recreational property and too much emphasis to put groceries and other necessities along busy intersections, instead of within residential communities where people would be willing to walk to them.

[ccinamon]

5. I'm not surprised!! Winston-Salem does not believe in sidewalks!

It was my number one pet-peeve the 12 years I lived there. I bet there is only about 5 miles of sidewalk for a population of over 100,000.

And don't get me started about the unsyncronized (for green) stop lights every 15 feet on MAJOR streets. They are synced so you. have. to. stop. at. every.single. one.


Glad I was finally able to leave!!

[bleedingheart]

6. I long for city life...and may get my dream

My husband and I both enjoy the benefits of city living but gave in to peer pressure to move to the suburbs while our children were young. The plus side has been having a grandmother who lives very close by...the downside...the commute from hell.
Our taxes are also lower in the suburbs but then again I don't know if it is worth saving 1-2% in taxes so I can sit in the car 2.5 hours a day...
ugh!