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VIDEO: How cities shape us

The former Philly health commissioner lays out the ways the built world changes our bodies.

Calories in, calories out. That's the basic equation we all need to balance. But if it's out of whack, says Donald Schwarz, a physician and former health commissioner for the city of Philadelphia, it's not always just our fault for eating too much. It turns out that the "built environment" — the physical buildings and neighborhoods built around us — have a lot to do with our weight and overall health. That's because the way communities are laid out, whether they provide safe spaces to walk or play, and even whether the buildings are made of non-toxic materials or have clean water to drink, has a lot to do with how healthy or unhealthy we are, both as children and as adults.

Schwarz, now a vice president at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is involved with promoting healthier communities, particularly for children. And he says that every decision that architects and city planners make can either promote health or erode it — and that understanding and prioritizing that end of the equation can help all Americans live healthier lives.

Donald Schwarz