Flutterby™! : Moving to the city makes you healthier

Nature: Countrywide natural experiment links built environment to physical activity Tim Althoff, Boris Ivanovic, Abby C. King, Jennifer L. Hicks, Scott L. Delp & Jure Leskovec

By analysing the results of this natural experiment, which exposed individuals to differing built environments, we find that increases (decreases) in walkability are associated with significant increases (decreases) in physical activity after relocation. For example, moving from a less walkable (25th percentile) city to a more walkable city (75th percentile) increased walking by 1,100 daily steps, on average. These changes hold across different genders, ages and body mass index values, and are sustained over 3 months. The added activity is predominantly composed of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, which is linked to an array of associated health benefits.