Creating parks key to fighting weight gain: New Zealand study

Planting trees in public places could lead to a healthier society, according to a New Zealand study out Thursday.

The University of Canterbury research analyzed the activities of 12,500 New Zealanders and found people living near parks and green spaces were less likely to be overweight or obese.

"Park creation and planting in existing public spaces may serve as low-cost disease prevention options," Professor Simon Kingham said in a statement.

Around 28 percent of New Zealand adults were said to be obese and the figure was rising, leading to escalating health care costs, while about 11 percent of children up to the age of 14 were considered obese.

"We found associations between neighborhood environmental characteristics, obesity and related behaviors among adult New Zealanders," said Kingham.

"We found that increased neighborhood deprivation and decreased access to neighborhood green spaces were both significantly associated with increased odds of being overweight and/or obese. Increased access to green space was associated with high levels of walking, while decreased access to green space was associated with low levels of walking."

It was probably the first study in New Zealand to evaluate the potential role of environmental characteristics in influencing obesity of becoming overweight, adding to evidence from the United States, Australia, Canada and Europe.

"The fear of neighborhood crime has also exhibited a negative impact on mental and physical well-being in New Zealand and has been shown to reduce residents' walking within the local neighborhood in Australia and the United Kingdom," said Kingham. Endi