Did suburban sprawl make our bodies sprawl? With neighborhoods built for cars, walking gets short shrift

Why don't Americans walk anywhere?

Old answer: They're lazy.

New answer: They can't.

There is no sidewalk outside the front door, school is 5 milesaway, and there's a six-lane highway between home and thesupermarket.

A number of public health experts believe the way neighborhoodsare built is to blame for Americans' physical inactivity--and theresulting obesity epidemic.

The public health concern is a new slant on the issue of suburbansprawl. These health experts bring a deep-pocketed force of privatefoundations and public agencies into discussions about whatneighborhoods should look like.

And the argument over whether suburbs are bad for …