Gardening is one of the favorite hobbies of the French. This is good because gardening is not just a fun activity. It is also a real source of physical exercise, good for form and morale. You can garden to lose weight, it’s even been scientifically proven! Put down your hoe and rake to check…
You know it: to stay in good health, you have to eat healthyand this move a little every day. As such, gardening is excellent for health, because it allows you to makephysical activity regularly!
Full-fledged physical activity
Even moderate, this physical activity is essential for prevent many diseases, and therefore to reduce the risk of mortality and extend life expectancy.
Gardening is therefore part of the physical activities in the same way as walking, dancing or cleaning. It is an activity that requires moderate but regular effortwhich is essential to have benefits about health. Another advantage of this physical activity: everyone can progress at their own pace, without forcing.
Be careful, however: certain tasks such as digging the garden, mowing or pruning are considered to be intense physical exercises because they require special effort. So be careful if you suffer from certain health problems (back pain, joint problems, etc.).
Gardening to lose weight?
In addition to its physical benefits, gardening is also associated with a reduced risk of obesity. An American scientific study, published in American Journal of Public Health shows that the people who frequent collective gardens in the city are less prone to overweight et al’obesity than average. Gardening to lose weight is a good idea…
In detail, women who garden in these shared spaces have a body mass index 1.8 lower than the BMI of those who do not garden. It is considerable, it is equivalent to 5 kg less approximately for a woman of 1.65 m.
” We are unable to establish whether this difference is due to the greater number of fruits and vegetables ingested by these amateurs or to their more intensive practice of physical exercise. “, explains the main author of the study.
Green spaces make you happy
Still, gardening is associated with a healthier lifestylewhether practiced in town (this is the subject of this study) or in the countryside.
Even if you don’t garden, know that frequenting green spaces is positive for mental and therefore also physical health. Especially if you live in town. A recent British study shows that inhabitants of large cities who live near green spaces are in better health than others.
The presence of a park or a garden near the home would thus provide big dose of happiness. Scientists go even further by measuring this happiness felt: it would be equivalent to a third of the joy that one can experience on their wedding day…
So, only one rule to remember: to be happy, live in the garden!
