That being in contact with nature contributes to improving health and also provides mental benefits has been proven in different investigations. Now a new randomized and controlled study has shown that gardening can help reduce the risk of cancer and improve mental health, since it is related to a better diet and a significant decrease in stress levels.
The results of the observations, led by Jill Litt, an ISGlobal researcher and professor in the Department of Environmental Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder, have been published in The Lancet Planetary Health journal. Litt, a PhD in environmental health and public policy from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, has researched urban environmental health in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Boston, and Denver, and most recently in Barcelona, Marseille, and Montpellier. She received an American Cancer Society Health Equity Program Award for conducting a randomized controlled clinical trial of community gardening and its impact on health behaviors and mental health as cancer risk factors among low-income and minority families in Denver. .
They have studied how gardening improves health. What have they observed?
It may seem outside of traditional research priorities, but our traditional approaches may not be working. Currently, 60% of adults have one or more chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, some types of cancer (eg, colon, breast), and almost three out of four adults are overweight or obese. Other prevention and treatment options should be explored.
Diet and physical activity are the two habits related to gardening that would improve health?
We know that diet and physical activity are relevant lifestyle behaviors for health and well-being. For example, fiber has a profound effect on inflammatory and immune responses, and it has been shown that when inflammation is reduced, disease risk is reduced. Also, we know that it is easier to change habits and prevent diseases than to treat them. That's why we're looking at community and nature-based solutions, and gardening can be a solution.
They claim that orchards, gardening, reduce stress and anxiety... In what way?
Working with your hands, getting dirty with the earth, collecting the fruits of that work and personal effort, as well as connecting with others, physical activity and the satisfaction of doing an activity that we are passionate about are factors that reduce stress and anxiety. . Therefore, gardens reduce the risk of diseases such as cancer or mental illness. Many participants in our project tell us that when they are working in the garden, their worries disappear.
If you are interested in making a garden, it is very likely that you eat well and are interested in a healthy life... Isn't there a prior bias?
This question is key, and our study answers it. In almost all of the previous studies, we did not know if the changes that were observed in the studies were because of the garden or because of the habits that the participants already practiced. With a randomized clinical trial, we remove this risk of selection bias. In our study, we assigned each patient to one of two groups – one treatment group, the orchard, and the other control. This is the gold standard of epidemiological investigation.
Do the benefits occur more with urban, community gardens, or also with individual, private gardens?
Urban gardens represent a system of people growing plants together and that act of growing food together is key because it is the source of social support. Gardeners share skills, food, stories, recipes, they help each other. In general, in gardening, social support is one of the three most important ingredients when it comes to understanding why they work in terms of health. That is why we see that urban gardens can have a stronger effect on health than home or family gardens.
Could growing plants or flowers have the same effect?
We have not tested whether the benefits are the same, but if the activity is carried out with other people and in direct contact with nature, I imagine that there will be benefits. This will be part of further analysis.
What relationship is there between the link with nature and the improvement of health?
We have to look at opportunities to create spaces and be in nature with other people. In our research at ISGlobal, we are studying nature-based social prescriptions. We have had success with orchards and gardens and have now begun to investigate other options with this formula.
Are you a specialist in urban environmental health... Do we have much worse health in cities than in small towns?
It's hard to say. In the cities we have a denser health infrastructure, while in the towns it is more dispersed. But of course, in places where there is less noise and air pollution and more social and environmental resources such as green spaces, the statistics show better data regarding the health of the population. The reality is that most of the population lives in urban areas, so the common goal should be to provide cities with the tools to improve these indicators.
What characteristics of urban neighborhoods can improve health?
Access to good essential services, affordable housing, stable and quality employment, a good education, access to healthy, quality food... are elements that undoubtedly contribute to a good quality of life. But, in addition, a clean, calm and safe environment is needed, access to green spaces and contact with nature. It is about strengthening an already existing social structure to improve those aspects, reduce loneliness and isolation.
What do you think of the 'superillas' project in Barcelona?
Barcelona has an urban tradition that integrates green spaces into the urban fabric, as the Cerdà Plan reserved green space inside the Eixample blocks for the use of citizens. The superillas are examples of a strategy to improve the urban and health model by redistributing public space towards a more people-centred model. It is a people-centered planning trend, redistributing public space, putting people at the center and moving towards more active and sustainable mobility. This would bring benefits such as more green spaces, improve air quality, and reduce noise and heat. But the studies that can prove it are still ongoing.
How is Spain with respect to environmental health in cities, compared to other European countries?
ISGlobal has a Ranking, the ISGlobal City Ranking, which shows indicators such as noise, pollution and green areas for 1000 cities in the world. Barcelona and Madrid are distinguished by having higher levels of pollution. Barcelona suffers from high levels of pollution, both atmospheric and noise, especially due to road traffic and port activity. And of course, in terms of vulnerability to heat, it is more exposed because of its Mediterranean context. As for green spaces, Collserola undoubtedly has a great lung, but unfortunately the distribution of green spaces in the city is very uneven, with a densely urbanized center.
