Nature And Green Spaces Prevent Disease

Nature and green spaces prevent disease, according to a study conducted by researchers from the VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

People who live closer to nature and green spaces are at significantly lower risk for a wide variety of mental and physical diseases.

The researchers examined the health records of 350,000 patients who had been registered with 195 general practitioners across the Netherlands for at least one year. Using postal codes, the researchers then calculated the percentage of area within both one and three kilometers (0.62 and 1.86 miles) of their homes that was covered by greenery.

The results showed that anxiety disorders and depression rate were significantly lower for people living close to nature and green areas.
Also, physical diseases were 15% lower near nature.
The physical diseases most affected are coronary heart disease, diabetes, asthma, respiratory infections, migraine, stomach infections, urinary tract infections and back, neck and shoulder complaints.

If you live in the U.S., you’re most likely to be healthiest and happiest if you are in the west.
The city of Boulder, Colo., came out on top in a study based on interviews with more than 353,000 Americans about such issues as satisfaction with their present life, emotional health, healthy behaviors, work environment, physical health and access to food, medicine and health insurance.
Among the highest scoring cities were Honolulu, Hawaii, and the California municipalities of Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, Santa Rosa-Petaluma, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara.

So, again, being closer to nature is healthier.