Walking for Well-Being: Are Group Walks in Certain Types of Natural Environments Better for Well-Being than Group Walks in Urban Environments?

Melissa R. Marselle, Katherine N. Irvine and Sara L. Warber
Additional contact information
Melissa R. Marselle: Institute of Energy and Sustainable Development, De Montfort University, Queens Building, the Gateway, Leicester LE1 9BH, UK
Katherine N. Irvine: Institute of Energy and Sustainable Development, De Montfort University, Queens Building, the Gateway, Leicester LE1 9BH, UK
Sara L. Warber: University of Michigan Integrative Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, University of Michigan, 1018 Fuller Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, USA

IJERPH, 2013, vol. 10, issue 11, 1-26

Abstract: The benefits of walking in natural environments for well-being are increasingly understood. However, less well known are the impacts different types of natural environments have on psychological and emotional well-being. This cross-sectional study investigated whether group walks in specific types of natural environments were associated with greater psychological and emotional well-being compared to group walks in urban environments. Individuals who frequently attended a walking group once a week or more ( n = 708) were surveyed on mental well-being (Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale), depression (Major Depressive Inventory), perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale) and emotional well-being (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule). Compared to group walks in urban environments, group walks in farmland were significantly associated with less perceived stress and negative affect, and greater mental well-being. Group walks in green corridors were significantly associated with less perceived stress and negative affect. There were no significant differences between the effect of any environment types on depression or positive affect. Outdoor walking group programs could be endorsed through “green prescriptions” to improve psychological and emotional well-being, as well as physical activity.

Keywords: natural environment; green space; well-being; Walking for Health; walking group; walking; green exercise; England; UK (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (14)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/10/11/5603/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/10/11/5603/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:10:y:2013:i:11:p:5603-5628:d:29967

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().