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The firm has been appointed by quango Public Health North East to analyse the effects of estate design policies on residents鈥� wellbeing, and to look for ways to promote walking and cycling.

The move comes after health secretary Alan Johnson launched a campaign against 鈥渇at towns鈥� where the design makes physical exercise difficult.

Geoff Gardner, the management consultant at Atkins leading the project, said 20-year-old government policies to fight crime and manage traffic had created a string of estates built around dead-end streets, which encourage people to use cars.

He said: 鈥淭here are still people who think footpaths equal crime and use that as an opportunity to build an extra five houses on the plot rather than a footpath.鈥�

Some people still think footpaths equal crime, and build extra houses instead

Geoff Gardner, Atkins

North-east England suffers from some of the highest obesity rates in the UK. Among children, almost 8% of boys and 10% of girls are said to be obese.

Gardner said health bodies could improve the statistics through measures such as supporting congestion charges as well as more hands-on approaches. 鈥淓xperts help people give up cigarettes and we want to use them to make people give up cars, which are just as addictive and hard to quit,鈥� he said.

Cynthia Bartley, project manager at Public Health North East, said: 鈥淭ransport initiatives can play an enormous part in improving an individual鈥檚 health and we want to explore how this can happen in the North-east.鈥�