A new paper "Nature, Childhood, Health and Life Pathways" has suggested that active living policies need to be integrated into all aspects of public policy and has recommended a ten point priority list for improved health outcomes, many related to interaction with nature.
One of the paper's author's, Professor Jo Barton of the interdisciplinary Centre for Environment and Society - University of Essex, will be presenting at the Congress.
Participating in physical activity and experiencing nature both play an important role in positively influencing health and wellbeing. Yet, physical activity levels have dropped dramatically, and inactivity results in 1.9 million deaths worldwide annually, roughly one in 25 of all deaths. It is also well established that exposure to natural places can lead to positive mental health outcomes, whether a view of nature from a window, being within natural places or exercising in these environments. Green space is important for mental wellbeing, and levels of interaction/engagement have been linked with longevity and decreased risk of mental ill-health across a number of countries.
FROM THE PAPER:
Thus ‘green exercise’, comprising of activity in green places (in the presence of nature), is predicted to lead to positive health outcomes, as well as to promote ecological knowledge, foster social bonds and influence behavioural choices.
Research suggests that attention should be given to developing the use of green exercise as a therapeutic intervention (green care), that planners and architects should improve access to green space (green design), and that children should be encouraged to spend more time engaging with nature and given opportunities to learn in outdoor settings (green education). Some of the substantial mental health challenges facing society and physical challenges arising from modern diets and sedentary lifestyles could be addressed by increasing physical activity in natural places. If children are encouraged and enabled to undertake more green exercise, then they are more likely to have active exposure to nature embedded in their lifestyle as adults and will reap the associated health benefits.
Some 15% of GPs now use exercise referral schemes, but many remain convinced they are ineffective. In the UK, 92% of GPs use anti-depressants as their most common treatment for mental ill-health. However, there are signs of change, with the Department of health calling for a well at work scheme, and Natural England calling for a focus on the values of the Natural Health Service to complement the established National Health Service. Such active living policies need to be integrated into all aspects of public policy.
We suggest ten priorities for action to improve the well-being of both children and adults:
1. Encourage a better understanding of the long-term outcomes of parental and social connections during ages 0-5.
2. Encourage more outdoor free play for children aged 6-11.
3. Develop better provisions for teenage children aged 12-18 to congregate in their own communities.
4. Encourage GPs and other medical professionals to accept that nature and the outdoors deliver important immediate and long-term health benefits.
5. Encourage planners to incorporate access to green space as a fundamental right for all people.
6. Encourage schools to incorporate use of gardens, allotments and woodlands as a regular part of the curriculum.
7. Evaluate the outcomes of outdoor play and green education on the cognitive capacities of children and their long-term health.
8. Assess the full economic benefits (personal and public) of a shift in life pathways from unhealthy to healthy for all age groups.
9. Assess how policies and institutions can best encourage widespread behaviour change that becomes a matter of preference and choice rather than enforcement.
10. Establish a national priority in all areas of public policy for all modes of physical activity in all types of green space.
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