Add “walkable neighborhood” to your house-shopping checklist if you want help shedding pounds. A study found that, over the course of a year, people who stepped up their workouts and lived in the most walkable areas lost an average of 2.7 pounds and 0.6 inches around the waist. To assess “walkability,” the researchers considered whether neighborhood streets were connected, as in a grid, which allows walkers to reach a destination using multiple routes. They also looked at how much land was set aside for parks and public spaces, which also encourages strolls and hikes. Curious about how a particular neighborhood stacks up? This Web site says it can calculate a walkability score for any address, based mainly on how many errands can be done on foot.
Source: American Journal of Epidemiology, Feb. 15, 2009