Retrofitting suburbs "life or death," article says

A story by Michael Mehaffy and Dr. Richard Jackson in Atlantic Cities argues that the loss of traditional neighborhoods and the decline of activities such as walking to school are drivers of childhood obesity, which they call "an alarming epidemic." They report: "In 1960, fewer than one in 10 American children were overweight or obese, but today, that number is one in four. Formerly very rare (and very serious) childhood diseases like Type 2 diabetes have become increasingly common. It's not just kids who are being affected: a quarter of adults are now obese, way up from one in 10 in 1990. That's contributing to soaring health costs – over $190 billion a year, or 20 percent of all health care spending, according to a recent Cornell University study." The two argue that retrofitting the suburbs is a "matter of life or death" for many people.