Children without access to garden likely to be obese, claims new study
Children aged between three and five years who have no access to a garden are at a greater risk of becoming overweightor obese by the time they turn seven, a new study has found.
The research, which involved around 6,500children from across England, found that even when taking into account factors likefood consumption, physical activity,education and poverty, not having a garden was a major risk factor in putting on weight.
Experts behind the research found that no garden access for lower educated households (children aged between three and five years) increased the odds of being overweight/obese at seven years by 38%, after adjusting for parental influences and socio-economic status.
For children of higher educated households living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods, there was also a 38% increased risk of being overweight or obese at the age of seven. "We showed that limits on access to outdoor space is associated with future childhood overweight/obesity," said lead author of the study Annemarie Schalkwijk, of VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam. "More research is needed to see how we can deploy these findings in the prevention of type 2 diabetes," he added.
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