Living and exercising in a green neighbourhood reduces the risk of dying from heart or lung problems in men, while it does not have any such impact on women, a new study has shown.
According to the researchers from the universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, men who live in the greenest neighbourhoods are about 10% less likely to die from lung problems than those in the least green spaces. However, no such difference was found for women.
The study looked at the availability of green spaces such as parks, playing fields and woodlands in urban areas across the UK and compared death from heart or lung conditions in areas with different amounts of green space.
Differences such as wealth and the amount of air pollution were also considered for the study.
While researchers did not give a reason for the difference between men and women, they suggested that it may be because women spend less time in green spaces than men, who tend to use them to exercise.
Study co-author Dr Elizabeth Richardson, of the University of Edinburgh’s school of geosciences, said: “The study was about measuring any health benefits of green space, so we can’t say for certain why we found the difference between men and women.
“We know from other studies that women tend to use green spaces less than men and are less likely to use them for exercise, particularly if the green space doesn’t feel safe.
“That might be an explanation. Further work is needed to investigate this.”
She said that men were more likely to use green spaces to exercise vigorously, whereas women often went there to look after children.
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