Does Living in the Suburbs Cause Obesity?

You've heard the stereotypes about suburbanites who are overweight because they get in their cars to go one block.

Apparently, it's all bogus.

University of Illinois researchers have found that low levels of education and income are associated with higher rates of obesity, but not suburban sprawl, HealthDay reports.

Researchers analyzed data from about seven million people in rural and urban counties in Illinois, including residents in the metropolitan Chicago area.

The data confirmed that sprawl is not significantly associated with obesity, although drivers living in most neighborhoods closer to downtown Chicago have slightly lower body-mass indexes than those living very far from the city.

We still remember the time we went to visit a friend in a Long Island, N.Y., suburb. We decided to walk to the local 7-Eleven, and we were nearly run over -- those roads weren't meant for pedestrians. So maybe the 'burbs don't make you fat, but they sure do make you rely on your car to get around.