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Residing in walkable area may help prevent diabetes

Category: Diabetes

Individuals hoping for negative results on a blood test for insulin deficiency may want to consider moving to a neighborhood that's easier to walk around.

According to an examination of the entire population of Toronto, highly-populated locations with many destinations within a walking distance and roads that make it easy to walk from one place to another can have an impact on individuals' chances of become diabetic. These findings from St. Michael's Hospital and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences have been published in Diabetes Care Today.

"Previous studies have looked at how walkable neighborhoods affect health behavior, but this is the first to look at the risk of developing a disease," said lead author Gillian Booth.

More Americans are in dire need of moderate exercise, according to new research released by Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. By their estimates, more than half of all Americans will be obese by 2030. Unless obesity levels in the U.S. stop increasing at their current rate, the majority of residents will be at a greater risk of a positive result from a blood test for diabetes.