Sprawl and Health

Powell 2003 - "Places to Walk: Convenience and Regular Physical Activity"

Powell, Kenneth E.; Martin, Linda M. ; Chowdhury, Pranesh P.
“Places to Walk: Convenience and Regular Physical Activity.”
American Journal of Public Health.
September 2003; v.93, n.9; pp. 1519-1521.
On the Web
Relevance: low

By a telephone survey study participants were asked to name safe and convenient places to walk.  Most participants could name at least one place and those who could name more places were more likely to be physically active.

Giles-Corti 2003 - “Relative Influences of Individual, Social Environmental, and Physical Environmental Correlates of Walking”

Giles-Corti, Billie and Donovan, Robert J.
“Relative Influences of Individual, Social Environmental, and Physical Environmental Correlates of Walking.”
American Journal of Public Health.
September 2003; v.93, n.9; pp. 1583-1589.
On the Web
Relevance: high

Using a survey of healthy residents of Perth, Australia and an objective measure of access to places to walk, Giles-Corti and Donovan found that living on a quiet street with sidewalks, trees, and shops increased the likelihood that survey participants walked  the recommended daily amount.

Craig 2002 - “Exploring the Effect of the Environment on Physical Activity: A Study Examining Walking to Work”

Craig CS, Brownson RC, Cragg SE, Dunn AL.
“Exploring the Effect of the Environment on Physical Activity: A Study Examining Walking to Work.”
American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
August 2002; v.23,n.2S2,s.1; pp36-43.
On the Web
Relevance: medium

Craig et al combined Canadian census data (demographics and journey to work) with neighborhood observations of walkability (density, diversity, design, safety) to find that environmental factors do influence walking to work.  Urbanization had the largest effect but variety of destinations, ease of walking, and social dynamics also played a role.

Cervero 2003 - "Walking, Bicycling, and Urban Landscapes: Evidence from the San Francisco Bay Area

Cervero R and Duncan M.
“Walking, Bicycling, and Urban Landscapes: Evidence from the San Francisco Bay Area.”
American Journal of Public Health.
September 2003; v.93, n.9; pp1478-1483.
On the Web
Relevance: high

Cervero and Duncan used the 2000 Bay Area Transportation Survey, GIS, and meteorological data to determine the factors that influenced whether participants made short (<5 miles) trips by walking or biking.  The built environment (street design, mixed-use) had less influence than factors such as trip length, steep slopes, rain, nightfall, and demographics.

Brownson 2001 - "Environmental and Policy Determinants of Physical Activity in the United States

Brownson RC, Baker EA, Housemann RA, Brennan LK, Bacak SJ.
"Environmental and Policy Determinants of Physical Activity in the United States."
American Journal of Public Health
December 2001; v.91,n12; pp1995-2003.
On the Web
relevance: low

Using a telephone survey based on the BRFSS, Brownson et al asked participants about  the environmental characteristics (parks, sidewalks, traffic, gyms) near their homes that may influence their physical activity.  Participants who met the daily physical activity requirements generally lived near sidewalks, enjoyable scenery, heavy traffic, and hills, and they had access to places to exercise.

Burchell 2003 - "Conventional Development Versus Managed Growth: The Costs of Sprawl"

Burchell RW and Mukherji S.
“Conventional Development Versus Managed Growth: The Costs of Sprawl.”  American Journal of Public Health.
December 2003; v.91, n.9; pp1534-1540.1
On the Web
relevance: medium

Using a mathematical model to compare the effects of sprawl versus compact development, the authors find that sprawl requires converting more undeveloped land and building more roads and water/sewer infrastructure.  Sprawl also leads to higher pubic service costs and housing costs.

Wang 2002 - "Economic burden of cardiovascular disease associated with excess body weight in U.S. adults"

Wang G, Zheng ZJ, Heath G, Macera C, Pratt M, Buchner D.
"Economic burden of cardiovascular disease associated with excess body weight in U.S. adults."
Am J Prev Med. 2002 Jul;23(1):1-6.
On the web
Relevance: medium

For normal weight, overweight, and obese people, cardiovascular disease prevalence was 20%, 28%, and 39%, respectively.

There were 12.95 million CVD cases among overweight people, more than 25% of which was associated with overweight. There were 9.3 million CVD cases among obese people, of which more than 45% was associated with obesity.

This extra disease burden led to $22.17 billion in direct medical costs in 1996 ($31 billion in 2001 dollars, 17% of the total direct medical cost of treating CVD).

Olshansky 2005 - "A Potential Decline in Life Expectancy in the United States in the 21st Century"

S. Jay Olshansky, Douglas J. Passaro et al.
"A Potential Decline in Life Expectancy in the United States in the 21st Century"
New England Journal of Medicine
March 17, 2005; 352;11; pp1138-1145
On the web
relevance:  medium

Assuming that current rates of death associated with obesity remain constant in this century, the overall negative effect of obesity on life expectancy in the United States is a reduction in life expectancy of one-third to three-fourths of a year--a reduction that is larger than the negative effects of all accidental deaths combined.

Sturm 2002 - "The Effects of Obesity, Smoking, And Drinking on Medical Problems and Costs"

Roland Sturm
"The Effects of Obesity, Smoking, And Drinking on Medical Problems and Costs"
Health Affairs
March/April 2002, pp245-253
On the web
relevance: medium<

Based on data from Healthcare for Communities, a national household phone survey conducted in 1997-1998, obesity has the same effect on chronic health conditions as does twenty years' aging -- a much larger effect than either smoking or problem drinking.  Obesity is associated with a 36 percent increase in inpatient and outpatient spending, and a 77 percent increase in medications.

Flegal 2005 - "Excess Deaths Associated with Underweight, Overweight, and Obesity"

Katherine M. Flegal, Barry I. Graubard, David F. Williamson, Mitchell H. Gail
"Excess Deaths Associated with Underweight, Overweight, and Obesity"
Journal of the American Medical Association
April 20, 2005; Vol 293, No. 15; pp1861-1867;
On the web
relevance: medium

The authors used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), with followups, to estimate the relative risks of mortality associated with different levels of BMI (body mass index).

Underweight and obesity, particularly higher levels of obesity, were associated with increased mortality relative to normal weight.  Overweight, however, was assocated with lower risk of death than was normal weight.