Green Exercise: Nature and Health
Conserving and protecting the natural environment and enhancing the health of the nation are government and public priorities. Current concerns about the combined adverse health effects of modern diets and sedentary lifestyles, both of which contribute to the obesity epidemic, need to be addressed. In addition, there is growing evidence that stress and mental ill-health have become substantial health problems for many cohorts of people. A solution to some of these problems may lie in encouraging people to interact with nature and greenspace by becoming more active outdoors (green exercise).
Evidence now shows that there is a positive relationship between exposure to nature and mental and physical health. At the same time, social interactions can be fostered and memories of places are created. At the University of Essex, we have shown over the past four years that green exercise brings mental and physical health benefits for a variety of different subject cohorts in the UK. Our findings suggest that priority should be given to developing the use of green exercise as a therapeutic intervention (green care). Such evidence, though, has yet to influence substantially the planning of urban and rural environments, priorities for public health, social care and criminal justice programmes, and recommendations for development of sustainable lifestyles.
see
www.greenexercise.org
More
at University of Essex
