Living in view of a park or garden reduces cravings for chocolate, cigarettes and alcohol, study finds

The results showed that those who had access to a garden or allotment, or had a view from their house at least a quarter made up of green space experienced cravings both less frequently and with less intensity.

By Vanessa Chalmers
Health Reporter For Mailonline
12 July 2019

Excerpt:

Living somewhere with a view of a park or garden could reduce your cravings for chocolate, cigarettes or alcohol, a study has found.

Researchers claim being surrounded by green space leads to people having fewer negative feelings and therefore less of a tendency to reach for unhealthy treats.

Exposure to nature even in small amounts has been shown to improve general wellbeing.

And the researchers said this could help understand the causes of cravings and therefore improve insight into diseases caused by excess, such as obesity and diabetes.

Abstract

This paper presents a novel investigation of a conceptual model, proposing that increased nature exposure may be associated with lower cravings, through reductions in negative affect. A cross-sectional online survey (N?=?149) provided an initial exploration of the relationships between various aspects of nature exposure, craving and negative affect. Access to gardens/allotments and residential views incorporating more than 25% greenspace were both associated with reductions in the strength and frequency of cravings. These associations were mediated, to varying degrees, by reductions in negative affect. This novel link could have implications for public health and environmental protection programmes.

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