As Jenna Ashley notes the Smart Growth America study shows only a tiny difference in “expected weight” in counties with lower density (pejoratively called sprawl) and more congested, higher density living arrangements. Among NC?s 3 major metropolitan areas the difference between ?expected weight? of a person in the least dense county (Yadkin) and the most dense county (Durham) is 10.4 ounces (you read that correctly). In the Triangle the difference between Franklin and Wake Counties (least and most dense), is 6 ounces. There are similarly tiny differences in other “links.” For example, the probability of having high blood pressure in Franklin County is 7/10ths of one percent higher than in Wake County and 9/10ths percent higher for obesity. While the Raleigh News and Observer claims the study adjusted for income, an important factor (poorer people tend to be more obese), the study actually adjusted for education, which it used as a proxy for income. This is suspicious, since income data is readily available and should not require a proxy. As Professor Wendell Cox, noted demographer and transportation policy analyst points out, if the impact of household income were included in the study it “could have negated the results.”
by Locker Room contributor