The suburbs can definitely make you fat. Like the author, I used to live in Philadelphia, and while my diet was horrendous at the time (think leftover stromboli for breakfast), I was the thinnest I had ever been because I didn't own a car and walked everywhere. And I LOVED it. I really miss not being able to walk out here in the burbs. In fact, it's downright dangerous in my case. I live on a dangerous road (numerous accidents have happened in my front yard) and have been told by the police to not walk on it. We don't have sidewalks, and even if we did, there's nowhere to walk to. Everything is in shopping centers that are far from residences. Another factor is that there's really nothing to do out here except go out to eat, which also contributes to obesity. In the city, there was always something to do. Not so out here.

Damn, I wish I could live in the city again. I miss it so much.