How to Lose Weight

6 Ways Your Neighborhood is Making You Fat

No sidewalks, bike paths, or parks in sight? Where you live may be widening your waistline
By Diana Kelly prevention
 

Problem: No Bike Paths

6 Ways Your Neighborhood is Making You Fat // 6 Ways Your Neighborhood is Making You Fat winding road © Thinkstock

Image: Thinkstock

Metro areas where greater numbers of people walk and bike to work tend to be healthier than car commuting towns, according to research conducted by The Atlantic and the Martin Prosperity Institute at the University of Toronto. Conversely, having more people who drive to work alone was related to a less healthy population. Biking is fantastic for your health and the environment—but not if you're risking life and limb every time you head out for a ride. If your area lacks bike lanes or is crisscrossed with dangerous traffic patterns, sharing the road with cars can be intimidating, to say the least.

How to fix it: If you plan to ride your bike in the street, assess how safe you think it is and understand that not all drivers are cyclist-savvy. Always ride with a helmet and add on reflectors and a light to make yourself more visible to drivers.

You may want to ride on the sidewalks if there are no laws against it in your town, but remember you’ll have to be mindful of pedestrians and be prepared to start and stop a lot if there’s foot traffic. You could ride your bike to work or take it in your car to your office and cycle around that neighborhood if it’s a safer area than where you live. And when it’s too hot or rainy to ride, you can mount your bike to an indoor trainer and get your ride in that way.

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