An October 2009 study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that people who live in “unhealthy” neighborhoods—areas with little access to fresh foods and few recreational areas—are up to 38 percent more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than people living in neighborhoods with those health-boosting advantages. What can you do, aside from moving, if you live in an unhealthy neighborhood? Here are a few simple steps that can help improve your health in an unhealthy neighborhood.

— Alice Lesch Kelly

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