People who live near foreclosed homes may be at greater risk of being overweight than those who don’t have such homes in their immediate neighborhoods, according to a new study by Harvard School of Public Health researchers. Millions of homes went into foreclosure during the Great Recession, and housing markets in many areas of the country are still struggling to recover. People living next door to foreclosed properties have been hit hard by the housing crisis; their homes may have lost value, and blighted houses on the block make many people feel less safe,” said lead author Dr. Mariana Arcaya, research scientist in the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies. “While our study wasn’t designed to pinpoint the mechanisms by which foreclosures put neighbors at risk of weight gain, previous research tells us that eating and drinking more are common reactions to stress, and that dangerous blocks may discourage physical activity.”