Empirical Examinations of Effects of Three-Level Green Exercise on Engagement with Nature and Physical Activity.

Ke-Tsung Han,Po-Ching Wang

doi:10.3390/ijerph15020375

Abstract

Green exercise can be classified into three levels based on engagement with nature. Although this classification was proposed more than a decade ago, few studies have investigated it since. The present study examined the effects of green exercise levels on engagement with nature and physical activity (PA) through a field experiment. A questionnaire was distributed to 95 students from a technology university in Central Taiwan to measure their level of engagement with nature in people-environment transactions, while their PA was measured using three instruments. In addition, because social interaction may distract individual attention from activities or their environments, the present study incorporated the presence of partners as a control variable. The results revealed that (1) engagement with nature and PA significantly differed between the levels of green exercise, and the higher the level of green exercise participated in, the greater the level of engagement with nature; and (2) although the presence of partners did not influence the level of engagement with nature, it significantly affected the level of PA.

Highlights

Physical inactivity has become the fourth largest cause of death worldwide
Aoftwo-factor of variance (ANOVA), where theand dependent variable was the total engagementanalysis with nature obtained from the questionnaire the independent variables were thescore of engagement with nature obtained from the questionnaire andsocial the independent variables were experimental treatment and interaction (i.e., presence of the experimental and social interaction, partners),treatment was conducted to test Hypothesis
The results revealed that (1) the main effect of experimental treatment on upstairs or downstairs momentum reached significance (F(1,58) = 9.538, p = 0.003, ηp 2 = 0.141), with a high effect size, and zero was not included within the 95% confidence interval for the difference, while the Level 2 green exercise participants (M = 84.300) were significantly greater than those of Level 3 green exercise (M = 66.525) (p = 0.003); (2) the main effect of experimental treatment on upstairs or downstairs calorimetry reached significance (F(1,58) = 6.977, p = 0.011, ηp 2 = 0.107), with a moderate effect size, and zero was not included within the 95% confidence interval for the difference, while the Level 2 green exercise participants (M = 4.378)

Summary

Introduction

Physical inactivity has become the fourth largest cause of death worldwide. According to theWorld Health Organization [1], approximately 6% of annual mortality, or more than two million deaths per year, are attributable to a sedentary lifestyle. People in modern society face increasingly serious challenges regarding physical and psychological health and well-being [2]. Physical inactivity and psychological illnesses such as depression have become public health problems [1]. Since physical activity (PA) and contact with nature are conducive to both physical and psychological health and well-being [3,4], the importance and value of conducting PA or exercise in natural environments, i.e., green exercise, should not be ignored. Green exercise might be better conceptualized as PA or exercise performed in environments with a greater ratio of natural to artificial elements than that typically encountered in everyday life [5]. Green exercise is composed of both PA or exercise and the natural environment, which are both physically observable phenomena.

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion