{"title":"The effects of green exercise on the mental and physical health of people with chronic conditions: a systematic review.","authors":"Aristi Tsokani, Vasiliki Stefanouli, Nele Adriaenssens, Athanasios Kotsakis, Eleni Kapreli, Nikolaos Strimpakos","doi":"10.1080/09603123.2024.2391991","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Green exercise, defined as physical activity in natural settings, shows promise for enhancing exercise participation and improving health. This systematic review aimed to assess the effectiveness of green exercise in people with chronic conditions. Seven electronic databases were searched and of the 7801 screened articles, 14 trials met the inclusion criteria. Green exercise was a safe and well-tolerated intervention, with low drop-out levels. It was found to positively affect participants' quality of life in three studies and mental health in four studies. Compared to non-exercise groups, green exercise significantly improved physical and mental health in patients with breast cancer, COPD, cardiovascular disease risk, chronic low back pain, obesity, and diabetes. However, it had no impact on the physical health of stroke patients or the cognitive performance of those with ADHD. Green exercise appears to be a safe intervention that can improve various chronic health issues.</p>","PeriodicalId":14039,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Environmental Health Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2000,"publicationDate":"2024-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of Environmental Health Research","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09603123.2024.2391991","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Green exercise, defined as physical activity in natural settings, shows promise for enhancing exercise participation and improving health. This systematic review aimed to assess the effectiveness of green exercise in people with chronic conditions. Seven electronic databases were searched and of the 7801 screened articles, 14 trials met the inclusion criteria. Green exercise was a safe and well-tolerated intervention, with low drop-out levels. It was found to positively affect participants' quality of life in three studies and mental health in four studies. Compared to non-exercise groups, green exercise significantly improved physical and mental health in patients with breast cancer, COPD, cardiovascular disease risk, chronic low back pain, obesity, and diabetes. However, it had no impact on the physical health of stroke patients or the cognitive performance of those with ADHD. Green exercise appears to be a safe intervention that can improve various chronic health issues.
期刊介绍:
International Journal of Environmental Health Research ( IJEHR ) is devoted to the rapid publication of research in environmental health, acting as a link between the diverse research communities and practitioners in environmental health. Published articles encompass original research papers, technical notes and review articles. IJEHR publishes articles on all aspects of the interaction between the environment and human health. This interaction can broadly be divided into three areas: the natural environment and health – health implications and monitoring of air, water and soil pollutants and pollution and health improvements and air, water and soil quality standards; the built environment and health – occupational health and safety, exposure limits, monitoring and control of pollutants in the workplace, and standards of health; and communicable diseases – disease spread, control and prevention, food hygiene and control, and health aspects of rodents and insects. IJEHR is published in association with the International Federation of Environmental Health and includes news from the Federation of international meetings, courses and environmental health issues.