Medical research has shown that walking and similar moderate physical activity is important to maintaining healthy weight and bestows many other health benefits. A study conducted by Barbara McCann and Reid Ewing (2003) compared the level of sprawl to the health characteristics of more than 20,000 individuals in 448 counties using a large national health survey maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The results show that people in more sprawling counties are likely to have higher body mass index (BMI), to be obese, and to suffer from hypertension. Looking at the extremes, the people living in the most sprawling areas were likely to weigh six pounds more than people in the most compact county. 

The way we build our communities appears to affect how much people walk, how much they weigh, and their likelihood of having high blood pressure. These findings are in line with a growing body of research which shows that community design influences how people travel and how physically active they are in the course of the day. While more research is needed, urban planners, public health officials and citizens are already looking to change communities to make it easier to get out on a bicycle or on foot.

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