MONDAY, Jan. 9, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Community gardening can improve well-being and reduce risk factors for disease, according to a study published in the January issue of The Lancet Planetary Health.
Jill S. Litt, Ph.D., of the University of Colorado Boulder, and colleagues conducted a randomized, controlled trial of adults who were on Denver Urban Gardens’ waiting lists for community gardens in Denver and Aurora. Participants were randomly assigned to receive a community garden plot (intervention group; 145 participants) or to be on a waiting list and not in the garden (control group; 146 participants). Diet, physical activity, and anthropometry were assessed as primary endpoints in spring (April to early June, prior to randomization, time point 1). [T1]), autumn (end of August to October, time 2 [T2]) and winter (January to March, after the procedure, time 3 [T3]).
Researchers observed a significant time-to-intervention effect for fiber intake (mean difference between groups at T2 of 1.41 g per day for intervention minus control) and for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (mean difference between groups, 5th .80 minutes). /Day). Participants in the intervention group showed greater reductions in perceived stress and anxiety between T1 and T2 compared to those in the control group.
“This randomized controlled trial strengthens the evidence for community gardening as a comprehensive, multicomponent, nature-based social intervention that can improve some health behaviors and reduce perceived stress and anxiety in a diverse urban population,” the authors write.
Several authors disclosed financial ties to Connecting Health Innovations.
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