Have you ever felt a sense of calm walking under the trees during a bushwalk in a rainforest? Perhaps you felt energised after exercising in your local park?
Research has shown that having access to greenspaces, such as public parks or a private residential garden can improve your health and wellbeing.
But with more than 50 per cent of the world’s population now living in urban areas, how is it impacting on our health?
We know that factors such as physical inactivity, weight gain, air pollution exposure and unhealthy diets are contributing to the rise of chronic diseases – could having more greenspaces be the answer to these problems?
PhD candidate Chinonso Odebeatu from UQ’s School of Public Health and Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences investigated this question, aiming to understand the link between greenspace exposure and our metabolic health.
How is greenspace important for health?
Greenspace can be defined as areas of land covered in vegetation, or pockets of nature within a landscape.
In an urban setting, the most common greenspaces are likely public parks, or private residential gardens.
Many studies have shown that exposure to greenspace can reduce stress and improve mental health, and now Mr Odebeatu’s research has found it may also positively influence metabolic syndrome.
“Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions characterised by elevated blood pressure, abdominal obesity, abnormal lipids and blood sugar levels,” Mr Odebeatu said.
“The findings of our research show that exposure to residential greenness, may lower the odds of metabolic syndrome by around 29.3 per cent.
“Residential greenness can improve metabolic health by encouraging people to participate in outdoor activities and boosting sunlight exposure and vitamin D synthesis.
“It may also help to lower environmental stressors, such as air pollution exposure, and create healthier behavioural patterns, including reduced sedentary time such as, time spent watching TV and driving, and loneliness.”
How was the research conducted?
Using data from the UK Biobank from people aged 38 to 73 years, Mr Odebeatu looked at the amount of greenspace around a person’s home, and how it may be linked to metabolic syndrome.
“We used greenness measures such as normalised difference vegetation index in a 500-metre radius and types of greenspaces including private residential gardens and public parks within a 100, 300, 500, 1000 and 1500 metre radius around a person’s home,” Mr Odebeatu explained.
“A 100-metre buffer was specifically included in this study to analyse the role of private gardens, in relation to metabolic syndrome- which is something that has not done before.”
How do people interact differently with greenspace?
The research also found that people interact with greenspace differently depending on their sex or socio-economic status.
“This may occur due to variations in hormonal regulations, insulin resistance, physical activity patterns and stress responses,” Mr Odebeatu said.
“For example, although men are more likely to use greenspace for physical activity, there is evidence that women experience greater improvements in obesity-related outcomes following exposure to greenspace.
“We also found participants who were from lower socio-economic areas, were more likely to benefit from residential greenness exposure, but had less access to them.
"This supports the need for public health policies that prioritise the creation and maintenance of accessible greenspaces, especially in urban areas where sedentary lifestyles/behaviours are more prevalent.”
The research is published in Environmental Research.
