Moving to walkable neighborhoods brings weight-loss benefits

Families often choose to move into a more walkable neighborhood for a more comfortable environment. But a new study says that those who do may see improvements to their health as well.

A new report by Canadian researchers - published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition - examined the body mass indexes of more than 4,000 people after moving. The study found that after a relocation to a more walkable area, those who valued a neighborhood's ease of walking maintained a stable body mass index.

However, participants saw much different results after moving to a more outdoorsy area. The study found that those people actually saw their BMIs increase. Researchers theorized that rise may be due to the fact that people in more rural areas may end up driving to places they might otherwise have walked.

Many recent reports have highlighted the growing tide of obesity in the U.S. A recent report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development predicted that 75 percent of Americans will be overweight by 2020.

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