Today, half the world’s population, that is no less than 3.5 billion people, live in urban areas. The World Health Organization (WHO) identifies many issues related to water, environment, violence, injury, non-communicable diseases (cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases), unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, harmful use of alcohol and risks associated with disease outbreaks as health consequences of urbanization.
City living is associated with increased pressures of mass marketing, availability of unhealthy food choices and accessibility to automation and transport, all in turn having effects on lifestyle that directly affect health. But on the other hand, urbanization is ever increasing. Since Europe experienced an exodus of rural peasantry to the newly emerging city centers across Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries, the trend is still continuing all over the world. The estimates are that the world’s urban population will reach 70% mark by 2050.
All this happens not without a reason. Apart from the innumerable economic opportunities cities offer their dwellers – the “pull” factor that attracts people towards them – urban life can be rich and fulfilling since it is more diverse, stimulating, and full of new opportunities. Individual and family mobility make it easier to escape from oppressive social relationships. The Bull World Health Organ (short for Bulletin of World Health Organization) identifies cities as sources of ideas, energy, creativity, and technology, thus fostering enlightened, congenial, and multicultural living.
The European Journal of Public Health recognizes the lifestyle differences as the most striking feature of urbanization of today. As a result not only changes in food habits, physical activity, work patterns, smoking and alcohol consumption, but also changes in sexual behaviour, leisure time activities, and travelling patterns cause transitions in patterns of disease and mortality. In turn, most of these factors are especially associated with an increase in the risk of chronic diseases and some infectious diseases.
When things are such, the city dwellers invariably look for the options available for them to live healthy – physically, mentally and socially. Evidence is gathering from research across the world that nature helps our brains and bodies to stay healthy.
University of Queensland researchers from down under have come out with cutting edge research on how often and how intimately city dwellers need to engage with nature for them to be healthier. In the meantime, they have tried to answer the questions how frequently a person should visit nature and how long they should spend there to reap benefits like better state of mind and lower blood pressure. In short, the study results suggest we all may need a minimum dose of nature: 30 minutes in at least one visit a week.
Nature provides alterations to the physical environment, giving rise to a concept termed “biophysical ecosystem services”, which expects to reduce the health risks. The health impacts of biophysical ecosystems operate in a number of ways. For example, vegetation filters pollutants from the air and buffer the urban heat (island effect), thus, potentially reducing the prevalence of respiratory infections or heat-related illnesses. Nature’s influence on people’s lives by encouraging positive health behaviors include their more likelihood of exercising when the natural surroundings provide an interesting, pleasant, and safe environment. The aesthetically laid walking tracks, children’s parks and playgrounds are all good examples. Their positive impact on reducing obesity, diabetes, mental illness and other health issues associated with sedentary lifestyles goes without saying.
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Researchers have shown that exposure to nature can have restorative effects, potentially reducing the effects of stress in a person’s life. Most importantly, all these benefits of urban green space occur alongside a range of other positive outcomes that include biodiversity conservation and environmental sustainability.
In fact some experts believe nature to be the best antidote to 21st-century maladies like childhood obesity and even crime.
Source – 23/02 /20117 , The Island , See more at – http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=160810
