Promote Physical Health/Improve Health Outcomes

The Irish Times reports on a study presented at the European Congress on Obesity by Brouwer and van Rossum.  The researchers found that “living in a safer neighborhood can have a greater impact on weight loss than how close your home is to a gym of grocery store.  Factors such as inadequate street lighting, groups of loitering children, and heavy traffic all have an association with difficulties losing weight. . . .

A literature review completed by Nigg, Petersen, and MacIntyre’s confirms the positive effects of exposure to nature during the pandemic and argues for the future support of nature spaces.  The investigators found that “Overall, the findings indicate that nature may mitigate [lessen] the impact of COVID-19 on psychological health and physical activity. . . . Overall, natural environments demonstrate considerable potential in buffering the impact of stressful events on a population level on mental health.”

Geiger and colleagues investigated the health of people living near the ocean.  They report that they analyzed “data from the Seas, Oceans, and Public Health In Europe (SOPHIE) and Australia (SOPHIA) surveys to. . . . find broad cross-country generalizability that living nearer to the coast and visiting it more often are associated with better self-reported general health. These results suggest that coastal access may be a viable and generalized route to promote public health across Europe and Australia.

Zhang and colleagues report on the implications of exercising in different conditions.  They learned that “Physical activity performed in a natural environment, especially among green spaces, is associated with mental health benefits. . . . [study participants] engaged in incremental cycling exercise at a moderate intensity while viewing an image in front of them on a large screen. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups in which the image they viewed was a green tree, an achromatic tree, a formless color green, or a formless achromatic color. . . .

Research by Huang and colleagues indicates serious negative effects of hearing traffic noise, which supports adding soundproofing materials to walls.  The team shares that “Road traffic noise was estimated at baseline residential address using the common noise assessment method model. Incident hypertension was ascertained through linkage with medical records. . . .

Recently completed research indicates that experiencing higher levels of light at night may not be healthy for pregnant people.  Investigators report in a study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology Maternal Fetal Medicine that “Pregnant adults who had greater light exposure three hours prior to sleep had a higher risk of developing gestational diabetes than those who had less exposure during this period. . . . Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that occurs during pregnancy. It can cause harm to both mother and baby.

Via a literature review McCormack, Paterson, Frehlich, and Lorenzetti add to the body of knowledge linking design to physical health.  They determined that “The built environment (BE) may enhance or reduce the effectiveness of PA [physical activity] interventions, especially interventions that encourage PA in neighbourhood settings.”   For example, “Increased distance to private gyms was associated with increases in self-reported total PA, while the density of private gyms in the neighbourhood was negatively associated with pedometer-determined steps among adults exposed to a PA interventio