According to a new research, the closer a woman lives to the grocery store, the greater is her body mass index (BMI).

Boffins at the University at Buffalo carried out a neighborhood-scaled exploratory research, which found out the link between the food environment, the built environment and women's BMI.

The researchers discovered that females with homes near to a supermarket, relative to a convenience store, had lower body mass indexes, and that the greater the number of restaurants within a five minute walks of a woman's home, the higher her BMI.

The research, headed by Dr. Samina Raja UB professor of urban and regional planning, involved 172 partakers.

Dr. raja said, "In particular, three findings are significant. First, a greater number of restaurants within a five-minute walk of a subject's house was associated with a greater BMI, holding other factors constant. Second, on average, women who live within relative proximity to supermarkets and grocery stores tend to have lower BMIs."

"Third, and perhaps most important, the interaction of the food environment and the built environment in a neighbourhood carries significant consequences for obesity," she added.

She stated that future study on the built environment and health must consider the task of the food environment on women's physical condition.

And the research offers up suggestions for how food environments may be amended using planning strategies.

The result of the research was released in the Journal of Planning Education and Research. (With Inputs from Agencies)