How Healthy is Your Neighbourhood??

Leslie Beck from the globe and mail wrote a great article today titled "Where you live affects your chance of obesity." Within the article, she provided a formula to determine the "Retail Food Environment Index" (RFEI), a good measurement to determine whether or not the area you live in promotes healthy living. This would be a great exercise for Health and Physical Education students wanting to measure the health of their own neighborhoods. Here's the formula:

How to Calculate Retail Food Environment Index (RFEI):

1. Add up the number of fast-food restaurants and convenience stores within 800 metres (half a mile) in any direction from your home.
2. Divide that number by the number of grocery stores and produce vendors in your neighbourhood.

RFEI lower than 3 = chance of becoming unhealthy is high. If your students determine that the area they live in does not promote healthy living, have them work on some solutions to make it healthier and get them thinking about what makes a successful health promoting neighbourhood.

RFEI 5 or higher = chance of becoming unhealthy is low. If your students determine that the area they live in does promote healthy living, by supporting physical activity and easy access to healthful foods, have them explain to others how it works in their area.