Health Benefits of Urban Allotment Gardening: Improved Physical and Psychological Well-Being and Social Integration.

ABSTRACT: With an ever-increasing urban population, promoting public health and well-being in towns and cities is a major challenge. Previous research has suggested that participating in allotment gardening delivers a wide range of health benefits. However, evidence from quantitative analyses is still scarce. Here, we quantify the effects, if any, of participating in allotment gardening on physical, psychological and social health. A questionnaire survey of 332 people was performed in Tokyo, Japan. We compared five self-reported health outcomes between allotment gardeners and non-gardener controls: perceived general health, subjective health complaints, body mass index (BMI), mental health and social cohesion. Accounting for socio-demographic and lifestyle variables, regression models revealed that

SUBMITTER: Soga M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5295322 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature