WHERE YOU LIVE AFFECTS YOUR WEIGHT MORE THAN YOU THINK
By Priyanjana Pramanik, MSc.
New evidence reveals that moving suburbs can shift your weight toward the local average, meaning your food access, neighbourhood design, and postcode may influence your body just as much as your personal choices.
Study: Product of our environment? Place effects on Body Mass Index. Image credit: YARUNIV Studio/Shutterstock.com
In a recent study in Social Science & Medicine, researchers examined the influence of where people live, rather than their individual characteristics, on their body weight using a dynamic event study in Australia.
They found that location explained approximately 15.5 % of variations in weight, indicating a robust ‘place effect.’ In some cases, location influenced food-related spending behaviors by up to 50 %.
2025-12-04T15:33:18Z