During an architectural boat tour of Chicago yesterday, my eyes soaked in the beauty of the older buildings, such as the Civic Opera House, Wrigley Building and Merchandise Mart. The sleek, reflective, modern behemoths dotting the riverfront didn't compare -- my subjective two-cents.

But one new study weighs in more objectively when it comes to the relationship between older neighborhoods and thinner residents. After studying the fitness and addresses of more than 450,000 Salt Lake County, Utah residents, researchers determined with each extra decade of a neighborhood's age, the risk of obesity was 13 percent lower for men and 8 percent lower for women.

What does older architecture have to do with thinner residents, you ask? It's not the architecture, it's the layout. Mainly, walkability. Older communities often offer more stores and businesses nearby, better sidewalks, larger shade trees and intersections at shorter intervals. Another predictor of thinner residents and walkability -- how many neighborhood residents walked to work. Now there's a novel idea.

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