People living in the centre of cities have a lower Body Mass Index (BMI) than people living further from the city centres. A study made by the University of Oulu has found this differences.
“The further away people live from city centres, the higher their body mass index,” doctoral student Tiina Lankila told Kaleva, an Oulu-based newspaper, today. The differences first become visible when the distance to a city centre exceeds 5 kilometres and continue to intensify until the distance is 180 kilometres, the study shows.
Researchers interviewed by Kaleva maintain that the differences in body mass cannot be attributed solely to socio-economic factors. Instead, the lack of physical activity and the use of private cars may also have contributed to the gap. In the study, the researchers monitored a group of people born in Northern Finland in 1966 who in 1997 lived either in Northern Finland or the capital region. The findings were similar in both regions.
Source: Helsinki Times - STT
http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/finland-news/domestic/8498-bmi-lowest-near-city-centres.html