Biophilia and "Body-Philia": Does positive body image change due to short visits in outdoor green environments?

Abstract

Background: Mounting evidence suggests that exposure to natural environments has beneficial effects on positive emotion, but less is known about the effects on positive body image and on the beneficial effects of green walls. Aim: The aim of the study is to examine the effects of short visits to different outdoor environments on positive body image. Methods: We recruited 200 healthy adult participants (139 women) and conducted a quasi-experimental study using within-subjects design. We examined the effect of short visits to randomly assigned ordered outdoor environments (green wall, small green garden and gray wall), as compared to baseline indoor environment on: mean positive body image, evaluated by SBAS-2 (State Body Appreciation Scale) and changes in sum of positive and negative emotions evaluated by PNAS (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule). The differences were examined using a repeated nonparametric Friedman test and any significant difference between environments was further explored using post hoc analysis with Wilcoxon signed-rank test, with Bonferroni correction. Results: The median of positive body image in the small garden environment [4.0, Inter Quartile Range (IQR):3.1- 4.74] and the green wall [3.9, IQR:3.08- 4.63] were higher compared to the gray wall [3.7, IQR:3.0 - 4.23] and to the indoor environment [3.7, IQR:2.8 - 4.53], [X2(3) = 44.27, p < 0.00]. For positive emotions, a higher but not significantly different sum was observed for small garden and green wall ([29, IQR: 23 to 35] and [28, IQR:21 to 34], respectively), and significantly higher compared to gray wall [25, IQR:20 to 31], [X2(3) = 70.453, p < 0.00]. For negative emotion, there was no significant differences between the environments. Conclusions: Short visits to outdoor green environments compared to non-green, or indoor environments, raises participants’ body appreciation and positive emotions. Keywords: Positive body image, Positive and negative emotions, Green environment, Green vertical wall