An illuminative academic project claims to have found a direct link between outdoor activity and how it can influence healthy eating habits.
Everybody knows how nice it feels to spend a day outside enjoying nature, particularly when the sun is shining. However, according to a new study, the benefits of soaking up the sun do not stop there, as being at one with the environment and partaking in outdoor activity can supposedly prompt you to make healthier lifestyle decisions – particularly when it comes to eating.
New study highlights link between outdoor lifestyles and healthy eating
A study led by the European Institute of Business Administration, otherwise known as INSEAD, has found that spending time in a natural setting tends to lead to people making healthier food choices in the immediate aftermath.
The goal of the research was to investigate how spending time in the outdoors could influence individuals to make healthier lifestyle choices.
Published in the academic journal Communications Psychology, the study suggested that “spending time in a natural setting, such as walking in a park (vs. on city streets), or simply viewing greenery outside the window (vs. an urban view), leads people to make healthier food choices afterward.”
How the study worked
In order to investigate the link between outdoor activity and healthy eating, INSEAD took a crowd of participants and split them into two groups. One group was asked to take a 20-minute stroll through a park, while the other walked through crowded streets in central Paris.
Each group was then offered a buffet consisting of both healthy and less healthy food. It was found that, while both groups consumed similar amounts of food, the group who walked through the park ate a healthy-to-unhealthy ratio of around 70/30, while the city group opted for more unhealthy foods, at a ratio of 39/61.
In a further experiment, participants were placed in a hotel room, and asked to order room service. One group was placed in hotel rooms from which they could view nature, while the other group sat in rooms with obscured or plain views of non-green urban settings.
Again, it was found that those who were exposed to nature chose healthier meals than the group members who had restricted views – suggesting that the more time we spend outdoors, the healthier lifestyle choices we’ll make.
In a summary of the study, it was noted that co-author Maria Langlois came up with the idea while on a bike ride, on which she noticed that her friends were making healthier, non-processed food choices while biking through the environment.
How green is your lifestyle?
The implication of the study, as noted by its authors, is that it prompts readers to think about how green their lifestyles are – in a world which feels increasingly urban.
With the constant erection of skyscrapers, and a shift away from outdoor exercise towards gyms and indoor fitness classes – the academics at INSEAD worry that consumers may be prompted to make less healthy eating choices if they are spending less time surrounded by nature.
It was their recommendation that schools and businesses use environmental imagery in their eating spaces to prompt diners toward healthier choices, while food producers should use similar imagery on their packaging.
So if you’re worried about the way you’re living your life – try your best to add an extra hour or two of outdoor exercise to your schedule over the next few weeks, as the science suggests you’ll almost certainly feel better for it.
