Natural England - Green makes you lean
Green makes you lean
22 July 2009
Natural England today launched its “Natural Health Service” which calls for a step-change in the way that people are given access to green spaces and the ways in which outdoor activity programmes are supported by GPs.
- Natural England launches ‘Natural Health Service’ focused on health benefits of green spaces
- Major expansion in health walks announced
- New research reinforces evidence of link between lack of access to open spaces and obesity
In the face of projections suggesting that nine out of 10 adults could be overweight or obese by 2050, Natural England today launched its “Natural Health Service” which calls for a step-change in the way that people are given access to green spaces and the ways in which outdoor activity programmes are supported by GPs.
Speaking at the launch from Ladywell Fields, Lewisham, Alison Barnes, Natural England’s London Director said ‘In recent years, research has shown that poor diets and lack of exercise have led to increased levels of obesity, depression and heart disease amongst Londoners. The ‘Natural Health Service’ aims to reverse this trend by providing people with the support they need to get active in their local greenspace. Whether it’s through conservation volunteering with a local park, participating in a weekly health walk, or just taking time to relax in our busy lives, the natural environment can play a huge role in improving people’s health and well being.
‘London has a fantastic amount of natural greenspaces which is free for people to use, we are working hard with DoH, NHS London and GPs to ensure that the benefits of this resource are fully recognised and integrated within the health care provision.’
Natural England believes that because of the wealth of greenspace available in London, the opportunity to connect people to their local greenspace for their health and wellbeing and help reduce healthcare costs, provides an unprecedented opportunity; and is calling on partners to help us realise this ambition.
Natural England also announced the findings of the latest research from the Universities of Bristol and East Anglia which shows that - even after taking account of socioeconomic variations - people living more than 11/4 miles away from a park were less likely to be physically active and 27% more likely to be overweight or obese. The findings reinforce earlier research conducted by Glasgow and St Andrews Universities, which found that people who live near to green spaces live longer.
Accompanying the Manifesto launch, the Department of Health joined Natural England in announcing an expansion of Natural England’s Walking the Way to Health programme. Health Walks already form an important part of Natural England’s health and access activities, with over 200 walks taking place every week in London, with over 2, 600 regular walkers. Natural England is hoping to quadruple the number of people walking regularly for their health by the 2012 Olympics, by working with local partners.
Dr Simon Tanner, Regional Director of Public at NHS London and Health Advisor to the Mayor said ‘The natural environment offers an invaluable resource to help support health and wellbeing. Access to the natural environment is fundamental part of a healthy lifestyle and that it should be valued and recognised for the health benefits it can provide to all Londoners’.
-Ends-
Notes to Editors
For further information or interviews please contact Adam Elwell at Natural England's press office on: 0207 932 2212 or 07814501780 or adam.elwell@naturalengland.org.uk
In London, Natural England is working with a range of partners to promote the health benefits of local parks:
Natural Play
London’s young population has higher childhood obesity rates (18%) than anywhere else in the country. Natural England is working in partnership with London Play and local delivery partners to improve ‘natural play’ in parks around London. These include Loris Road, Hammersmith and Fulham launched in June 09 is putting in small play structures for children to climb over.
Physical Activity Care Pathway pilot
Natural England helped DoH with their Physical Activity Care Pathway pilot (PACP) in London during 2007-08. This was a referral scheme for GPs based on ‘Let’s Get Moving’ maps drawn up by Natural England showing places for patients to be physically active outdoors, working with local partners.
Following on from the PACP pilot, Natural England is working with:
(a) Haringey PCT at Lordship Recreation Ground and Broadwater Farm Estate to develop local health walks.
(b) Southwark PCT, Southwark Local Authority and the Ramblers to develop GP projects to recommend being active outdoors in Walworth, including setting up ‘health walks’ from GP surgeries and providing maps of the local area with activities to patients by motivational Exercise Experts, working alongside indoor exercise on referral schemes.
Kingston Walking Maps
Natural England has been working with NHS Kingston, Age Concern and Kingston Council to develop a series of walking maps alongside rivers, through parks, local countryside and historic Kingston. The maps are diagrammatic and presented in a practical printable format. They will be used to encourage health lifestyles by the PCT and Age Concern in Kingston. You can download the maps from the Royal Borough of Kingston website.
The Natural Health Service Manifesto
Natural England’s Natural Health Service manifesto 
is calling for the following:
To increase the number of households that are within five minutes’ walk of an area of green space covering at least two hectares about the size of two football pitches – the benchmark set by Natural England’s Access to Natural Green Space Standard (ANGST). The organisation is encouraging people to test the quality of their local parks by using its Greenspace Checker web questionnaire. By answering three simple questions anyone can get a measure of their access to green space.
To make sure every GP or community nurse is able to refer patients to an approved health walk or outdoor activity programme targets for delivering these services are set by all primary care trusts and local authorities.
Health professionals or members of the public wanting to know more about health walk schemes can find their nearest group on the Walking the Way to Health website.
Research from the Universities of Bristol and East Anglia:
Original research by Melvyn Hillsdon1, Andy Jones2 & Emma Coombes2 for Natural England
1. Department Exercise and Health Sciences, University of Bristol
2. School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia
Research Summary by David Stone, Natural England.
Current green space research tends to focus on the proximity and accessibility of physical activity facilities and public open space. Overall, the evidence indicates that improving access to good quality green space in urban areas may be a promising means of increasing physical activity. However, uncertainty exists regarding the relationship between green space access, the frequency of green space use and physical activity. Furthermore, the extent to which relationships between green space and physical activity vary by population sub-group is unknown, and as the bulk of the literature is from the US or Australia. Natural England commissioned a research team from University of Bristol and University of East Anglia to undertake independent studies on this relationship in the UK.
Two studies were produced with the aim of providing new evidence on the association between both perceived and objectively measured access to green space, frequency of green space use, physical activity levels, and the probability of being overweight or obese by combining information from the Bristol Quality of Life in your Neighbourhood Survey, with a comprehensive database of green space locations and characteristics within the city.
Conclusions
People who perceive easy access to safe green spaces report higher green space use, more regular physical activity and lower risk of obesity. Therefore, access to safe and convenient green space is likely to be an important environmental factor in public health efforts aimed to promote physical activity and reduce obesity. When access was measured objectively trends were apparent whereby more frequent green space users were more physical active and less likely to be overweight or obese. The robustness of these associations was tested by controlling for a wide range of neighbourhood characteristics. Subsequent associations were mostly attenuated but persistent, except for those with bodyweight which generally disappeared. This may reflect the particularly varied nature of the personal, societal, and environmental influences on weight.
These studies have provided new evidence that good access to urban green spaces is associated with higher use, higher physical activity levels, and a lower likelihood of being overweight or obese.
For further information on the research please contact Natural England’s press office.
Research from Glasgow and St Andrews:
Mitchell R, Popham F. Effect of exposure to natural environment on health inequalities: an observational population study. Lancet 2008; 372: 1655-1660
Walking the Way to Health
Natural England’s Walking the way to Health encourages people to enjoy local natural spaces and benefit their health by taking part in health walks. Natural England is the largest national body promoting and setting the standards for led health walks, supporting over 525 local health walk schemes.
One Million Children Outdoors
In April 2009 Natural England launched its One Million Children Outdoors programme aims to introduce a million children to the natural world over the next three years. In its first year, the programme, aims to:
Double the number of farm visits by school-aged children to 100,000, funded through green farming schemes
Double the number of children participating in educational visits on National Nature Reserves to 60,000
Support projects funded through the £23 million Access to Nature grant scheme that aim to connect children, particularly from deprived urban communities, with the natural world.