Childhood Obesity: No Garden Access Increases Overweight Risk In Children

Green spaces are important for clean air and room to roam freely, particularly when it comes to children. Unlike excessive exposure to urban environments, previous studies show that increased air pollution and little greenery can not only be bad for your lungs and in some cases, increase the risk of sedentary behaviors, but also increase the risk of other health conditions when tied together, according to The Daily Mail. 

A recent study reveals that no access to a garden between the ages of 3 and 5 years may be linked to nearly a 40 percent increased risk of developing obesity by the age of 7.

During the study, researchers analyzed data on close to 6,500 children from England via Millennium Cohort Study - a nationally representative study of around 19,000 children born in the UK between 2000-2001, who are followed over time.

The study aimed to focus on the association of certain environmental characteristics on children being overweight or obese at age 7. Furthermore, the study authors also assessed if parental behaviors and socioeconomic status affected the association.

After adjusting for certain parental influences as well as socioeconomic status, researchers discovered that no garden access was indeed linked to lower educated households and an increased risk of overweight or even obese children at the age of 7 by up to 38 percent.

"Also the combination of a more disadvantaged neighborhood and higher education increased childhood overweight/obesity. To conclude, we showed that limits on access to outdoor space is associated with future childhood overweight/obesity although moderated by education level. More research is needed to see how we can deploy these findings in the prevention of type 2 diabetes," the study authors noted, in a news release.   

For future research, researchers hope to examine the influence of environment and the risk if may hold over weight. With new findings, certain interventions could potentially reduce various risk factors or prevent them all together. 

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