Physical, Psychological and Emotional Benefits of Green Physical Activity: An Ecological Dynamics Perspective
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Physical, Psychological and Emotional Benefits of Green Physical Activity: An Ecological Dynamics Perspective Hsiao-Pu Yeh1 • Joseph Antony Stone2 • Sarah May Churchill2 Jonathan Stephen Wheat1 • Eric Brymer3 • Keith Davids1,4
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Ó Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015
Abstract Increasing evidence supports the multiple benefits to physical, psychological and emotional wellbeing of green physical activity, a topic of increasing interest in the past decade. Research has revealed a synergistic benefit of green physical activity, which includes all aspects of exercise and physical activity in the presence of nature. Our theoretical analysis suggests there are three distinct levels of engagement in green physical activity, with each level reported to have a positive effect on human behaviours. However, the extent to which each level of green physical activity benefits health and wellbeing is assumed to differ, requiring confirmation in future research. This elucidation of understanding is needed because previous literature has tended to focus on recording empirical evidence rather than developing a sound theoretical framework to understand green physical activity effects. Here we propose an ecological dynamics rationale to explain how and why green physical activity might influence health and wellbeing of different population groups. This framework suggests a number of unexplored, interacting constraints related to types of environment and population groups, which This article is part of the Topical Collection on Designing environments to enhance physical and psychological benefits of physical activity: A multi-disciplinary perspective. & Hsiao-Pu Yeh [email protected] 1
Centre for Sports Engineering Research, Sheffield Hallam University, Room S001 Chestnut Court, Collegiate Crescent, Sheffield S10 2BP, UK
2
Academy of Sport and Physical Activity, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK
3
Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK
4
FiDiPro Programme, University of Jyva¨skyla¨, Jyva¨skyla¨, Finland
shape reported levels of benefit of green physical activity. Further analysis is needed to clarify the explicit relationship between green physical activity and health and wellbeing, including levels of engagement, types of environmental constraints, levels of physical activity, adventure effects, skill effects and sampling of different populations.
Key Points Previous literature has typically provided an operational analysis of the benefits of physical activity undertaken in nature, and future work needs to understand how and why green physical activity might influence health and wellbeing with a multidisciplinary rationale. Further investigation of interacting constraints on green physical activity effects is needed, including levels of engagement, types of environment, level of physical activity, adventure, skill effects and groups. An ecological dynamics framework has the potential to provide principles for the design of green physical activity programmes as well as experi
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