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The impact of the natural environment on the promotion of active living: An integrative systematic review

BACKGROUND: An understanding of how the living environment influences physical activity (PA) is of great importance for health promotion. Researchers have reported increased PA when there is a greater availability of nature within people’s living environment. However, little has been said about unde...

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Autores principales: Calogiuri, Giovanna, Chroni, Stiliani
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: BioMed Central 2014
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4246567/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25150711
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-14-873
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author Calogiuri, Giovanna
Chroni, Stiliani
author_facet Calogiuri, Giovanna
Chroni, Stiliani
author_sort Calogiuri, Giovanna
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: An understanding of how the living environment influences physical activity (PA) is of great importance for health promotion. Researchers have reported increased PA when there is a greater availability of nature within people’s living environment. However, little has been said about underlying motivational processes. The aim of this study was to review the existing literature on the relationship between the natural environment (NE) and PA, integrating it into a conceptual model that depicts the motivational process underlying this relationship. METHODS: Through a systematic literature search in line with PRISMA guidelines, peer-reviewed articles were sought using PubMed (search updated to October 2013) and scrutiny of reference lists. In addition, we contacted experts within our network. We reviewed papers in which the research question(s) concerned: 1) Effects of PA in NE on individuals’ feelings and beliefs; 2) Relationships between PA and availability of NEs; and 3) Motivational processes underlying visits to NEs in association with PA. Analysis and integration of the 90 selected studies were performed using the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). RESULTS: People’s experiences in using the NE can enhance attitudes toward PA and perceived behavioural control via positive psychological states and stress-relieving effects, which lead to firmer intentions to engage in PA. Individual and environmental barriers, as expressions of social support and actual behavioural control, impact the process via subjective norm and perceived behavioural control. Instrumental beliefs such as a desire to enjoy nature and the expected health benefits also influence the process via attitudes. Different patterns have been identified for neighbourhood-based PA and outdoor recreations that take place in a NE. CONCLUSIONS: The availability of a NE and attractive views of nature within an individual’s living environment are important contributors to PA, yet attention should focus on personal characteristics and environmental barriers. Policy and infrastructural interventions should aim to guarantee access and maintenance of the NE, as well as information and programming of social activities. Social campaigns via media and health institutions should highlight how nature can be a source of motivation for maintaining a PA routine, reducing stress and achieving aesthetic and health goals. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-873) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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spelling pubmed-42465672014-11-29 The impact of the natural environment on the promotion of active living: An integrative systematic review Calogiuri, Giovanna Chroni, Stiliani BMC Public Health Research Article BACKGROUND: An understanding of how the living environment influences physical activity (PA) is of great importance for health promotion. Researchers have reported increased PA when there is a greater availability of nature within people’s living environment. However, little has been said about underlying motivational processes. The aim of this study was to review the existing literature on the relationship between the natural environment (NE) and PA, integrating it into a conceptual model that depicts the motivational process underlying this relationship. METHODS: Through a systematic literature search in line with PRISMA guidelines, peer-reviewed articles were sought using PubMed (search updated to October 2013) and scrutiny of reference lists. In addition, we contacted experts within our network. We reviewed papers in which the research question(s) concerned: 1) Effects of PA in NE on individuals’ feelings and beliefs; 2) Relationships between PA and availability of NEs; and 3) Motivational processes underlying visits to NEs in association with PA. Analysis and integration of the 90 selected studies were performed using the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). RESULTS: People’s experiences in using the NE can enhance attitudes toward PA and perceived behavioural control via positive psychological states and stress-relieving effects, which lead to firmer intentions to engage in PA. Individual and environmental barriers, as expressions of social support and actual behavioural control, impact the process via subjective norm and perceived behavioural control. Instrumental beliefs such as a desire to enjoy nature and the expected health benefits also influence the process via attitudes. Different patterns have been identified for neighbourhood-based PA and outdoor recreations that take place in a NE. CONCLUSIONS: The availability of a NE and attractive views of nature within an individual’s living environment are important contributors to PA, yet attention should focus on personal characteristics and environmental barriers. Policy and infrastructural interventions should aim to guarantee access and maintenance of the NE, as well as information and programming of social activities. Social campaigns via media and health institutions should highlight how nature can be a source of motivation for maintaining a PA routine, reducing stress and achieving aesthetic and health goals. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-873) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. BioMed Central 2014-08-24 /pmc/articles/PMC4246567/ /pubmed/25150711 http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-14-873 Text en © Calogiuri and Chroni; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2014 This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
spellingShingle Research Article
Calogiuri, Giovanna
Chroni, Stiliani
The impact of the natural environment on the promotion of active living: An integrative systematic review
title The impact of the natural environment on the promotion of active living: An integrative systematic review
title_full The impact of the natural environment on the promotion of active living: An integrative systematic review
title_fullStr The impact of the natural environment on the promotion of active living: An integrative systematic review
title_full_unstemmed The impact of the natural environment on the promotion of active living: An integrative systematic review
title_short The impact of the natural environment on the promotion of active living: An integrative systematic review
title_sort impact of the natural environment on the promotion of active living: an integrative systematic review
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4246567/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25150711
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-14-873
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