If you live near a fast-food restaurant, the convenience may affect your waistline.

A recent study examining Ottawa neighbourhoods found that people living near fast-food restaurants are more likely to have health problems.

Meanwhile, those who live near well-stocked grocery stores and fine restaurants tend to be in better health.

"We all know that what we eat is crucial to our weight and that exercise is also important but what we don't know and what we're just learning is that the environments around us, the places in which we live and the environment, can affect what we eat and also can be related to our weight," said Elizabeth Kristjansson, a psychology professor with the University of Ottawa.

Kristjansson says most people don't realize the affects their neighbourhoods have on their health. Now, researchers are suggesting it's time to rethink how our communities are built.

"We should design neighbourhoods with less fast-food, with more smaller shops that people can walk to, rather than having people drive to stores all the time – have places where we can walk, that are live-able, where we can walk and bike to get our services," Kristjansson said.

The study examined 97 neighbourhoods in Ottawa.

Click to learn more about the study and view a profile of your neighbourhood.