Good for you!

Sacramento’s war on obesity is going about as well as the U.S. war in Iraq. The California Center for Public Health Advocacy recently released a report that blamed the high number of fast-food restaurants. In Sacramento, “there are 4.97 times as many fast-food restaurants and convenience stores as supermarkets and produce vendors.”

The report offered possible solutions to obesity, including the obvious: Limit fast-food joints and increase grocery stores in neighborhoods. But Teri Duarte, a trim, fresh-food fan who works for the Sacramento County Department of Health and Human Services, wants urban designers to acknowledge another culprit: sprawl.

If a public-health professional were redesigning Sacramento, Duarte told SN&R, we would “shorten distances between housing, workplaces and shopping [and] fill in vacant lots in existing communities.” All streets would be safe for walking and bicycling, she said. Public transit would be convenient and affordable for all. There would be grocery stores offering fresh fruits and vegetables within a half mile of all residences, and shade trees would cool all sidewalks, transit stops and parking lots.

Duarte’s picked a good time to lobby civic leaders: Both the city and county currently are updating their general plans.