Improvement seen in fiber intake and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity; reduction seen in perceived stress and anxiety<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter<\/b><\/p>\n
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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<\/em>.<\/p>\n Jill S. Litt, Ph.D., from the University of Colorado Boulder, and colleagues conducted a randomized controlled trial involving adults who were on Denver Urban Garden waiting lists for community gardens in Denver and Aurora. Participants were randomly assigned to receive a community garden plot (intervention group; 145 participants) or remain on a waiting list and not garden (control group; 146 participants). Diet, physical activity, and anthropometry were examined as primary outcomes during spring (April to early June, before randomization, timepoint 1 [T1]), autumn (late August to October, timepoint 2 [T2]), and winter (January to March, after the intervention, timepoint 3 [T3]).<\/p>\n The researchers observed a significant time-by-intervention effect for fiber intake (mean between-group difference at T2 of 1.41 g per day for intervention minus control) and for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (mean between-group difference, 5.80 minutes\/day). Participants in the intervention group showed greater reductions in perceived stress and anxiety between T1 and T2 compared with those in the control group.<\/p>\n “This randomized controlled trial strengthens 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.<\/p>\n Several authors disclosed financial ties to Connecting Health Innovations.<\/p>\n