Healthy neighborhoods may be associated with lower diabetes risk

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-10/jaaj-hnm100809.php

Public release date: 12-Oct-2009
Contact: Niki Gianakaris
JAMA and Archives Journals
Healthy neighborhoods may be associated with lower diabetes risk

Individuals living in neighborhoods conducive to physical activity and providing access to healthy foods may have a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes in a five-year period, according to a report in the October 12 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

"The worldwide epidemic of type 2 diabetes mellitus is largely driven by the combined rise in obesity, intake of energy-dense or nutrient-poor foods and physical inactivity," the authors write as background information in the article. Interventions to reduce risk on the individual level—including surgery, medication and behavior change—have had mixed results. Large-scale behavior change may be necessary to reverse the diabetes epidemic, but such a change is difficult to achieve and may be unsustainable if the surrounding environment is not supportive.

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Note that the eating a lot of "nutrient-poor foods" can cause one to crave more food, because of the bodies attempt to gain enough nutrients