Allotment gardening and health: a comparative survey among allotment gardeners and their neighbors without an allotment

By A. V. D. Berg, M. V. Winsum-Westra, S. de Vries, S. V. van Dillen. 2010

121 citations recorded by the source corpus.

The potential contribution of allotment gardens to a healthy and active life-style is increasingly recognized, especially for elderly populations. However, few studies have empirically examined beneficial effects of allotment gardening. In the present study the health, well-being and physical activity of older and younger allotment gardeners was compared to that of controls without an allotment. A survey was conducted among 121 members of 12 allotment sites in the Netherlands and a control group of 63 respondents without an allotment garden living next to the home addresses of allotment gardeners. The survey included five self-reported health measures (perceived general health, acute health complaints, physical constraints, chronic illnesses, and consultations with GP), four self-reported well-being measures (stress, life satisfaction, loneliness, and social contacts with friends) and one measure assessing self-reported levels of physical activity in summer. Respondents were divided into a younger and older group at the median of 62 years which equals the average retirement age in the Netherlands. After adjusting for income, education level, gender, stressful life events, physical activity in winter, and access to a garden at home as covariates, both younger and older allotment gardeners reported higher levels of physical activity during the summer than neighbors in corresponding age categories. The impacts of allotment gardening on health and well-being were moderated by age. Allotment gardeners of 62 years and older scored significantly or marginally better on all measures of health and well-being than neighbors in the same age category. Health and well-being of younger allotment gardeners did not differ from younger neighbors. The greater health and well-being benefits of allotment gardening for older gardeners may be related to the finding that older allotment gardeners were more oriented towards gardening and being active, and less towards passive relaxation. These findings are consistent with the notion that having an allotment garden may promote an active life-style and contribute to healthy aging. However, the findings may be limited by self selection and additional research is needed to confirm and extend the current findings.

Subfields: Ecology, Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis, Plant Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/173857795936ecaf5a3e729c8e4ac07e599e00a6

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In Ecology

In Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis

In Plant Science

Citations in the corpus

Short Food Supply Chains as drivers of sustainable development. Evidence Document (2013, background): “GYO activities can also increase physical activity levels (Hawkins et al, 2011; van den Berg et al, 2010).”
“Doing” Gardening and “Being” at the Allotment Site: Exploring the Benefits of Allotment Gardening for Stress Reduction and Healthy Aging (2013, background): “…of evidence highlights the potential benefits of allotment gardening for health and well-being, including physical activity levels, quality of life, social interaction, community involvement, and psychological stress levels (Kingsley et al., 2009; Milligan et al., 2004; van den Berg et al., 2010).”
Extinction of experience: the loss of human–nature interactions (2016, background): “…a positive relationship between levels of exposure to nature and people ’ s physical health and psychological well- being (Figure 4 , a and b; van den Berg et al. 2010 ; Kardan et al. 2015 ), as well as social contacts and cohesion (Figure 4 c; Sugiyama et al. 2008 ; van den Berg et al. 2010 ).”