Can architecture make you fat?

Experts are starting
to think so - and they're urging architects and town planners to tackle
the obesity epidemic by making new buildings more fitness-friendly.
Paul Arendt reports.
We all know that a diet of Krispy Kremes and chicken nuggets is a sure
path to elasticated trousers - but did you know that architecture can
be bad for your health, too? It's an idea that the government advisory
body, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (Cabe),
will be urgently promoting this year. Cabe argues that town planners
and architects must help tackle Britain's obesity epidemic by designing
cities and housing that encourage exercise. This may conjure up an
image of a futuristic metropolis fitted with endless MC Escher
stairwells and humiliatingly narrow doorways, but much of what Cabe
recommends is simply thoughtful design.