THERESA: A new study claims that living in the suburbs may be bad for your health. This makes sense in some ways. Before moving to Philly, we lived in Overland Park, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City, and while our neighborhood was near a nice walking and running path, it was impossible to walk to stores or other destinations. We had to drive everywhere. Now we live in a city neighborhood where we don't have to get in the car all weekend. We're near shops, post office, library, church, anything we need, and we're close to Wissahickon running and hiking trails too. Whenever I catch the train to work, I end up walking nearly a mile to and from my stops.

However, I think that many people who live in the suburbs tend to be relatively wealthy and can afford health club memberships, personal trainers, healthy fresh food and other things that help promote health and fitness. Does this study make sense to you, Girlfriends?

JILL: It does make sense for the reason you explained. My friend just came back from a trip to Russia, where she said she ate like a pig but because they were in an urban environment and walked everywhere, she gained no weight. It wasn't unusual to walk 25 minutes to a restaurant for dinner and back. But there are so many other factors involved that ultimately, this is another ridiculous study that does nothing but provoke irritation at the amount of useless studies that are done. The fact is, if you're committed to a fit and healthy lifestyle, you'll do it no matter where you live.

LAURIE: I don't know if the study is useless, since it does support the theory that it isn't where you live but what you do that keeps you healthy. Which takes away a potential excuse for not making lifestyle changes. It also makes me feel a little smug, as a city dweller who's sometimes looked wistfully around some suburban development with tree-lined streets and jogging trails and thought it might be nicer (and healthier) to live there.

Ha! Now I can tell myself these bucolic environs are populated by couch spuds with clogged arteries.