A new study found that inner-city kids living in neighborhoods with more green space gained about 13% less weight over a two-year period than kids living amid more concrete and fewer trees. Such
1
tell a powerful story. The obesity epidemic began in the 1980s, and many people
2
it to increased portion sizes and inactivity, but that can"t be everything. Fast foods and TVs have been with us for a long time. "Most experts agree that the changes were related to something in the environment," says social epidemiologist Thomas Glass of The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. That something could be a
3
of the green.
The new research,
4
in the
American Journal of Preventive Medicine
, isn"t the first to associate greenery with better health, but it does get us closer to identifying what works and why. At its most straightforward, a green neighborhood simply means more places for kids to play—which is
5
since time spent outdoors is one of the strongest correlates of children"s activity levels. But green space is good for the mind too: research by environmental psychologists has shown that it has cognitive benefit for children with attention deficit disorder. In one study, just reading outside in a green setting improved kids" symptoms.
Exposure to grassy areas has also been linked to less stress and a lower body mass
index
(体重指数) among adults. And a(n)
6
of 3,000 Tokyo residents associated walkable green spaces with greater
longevity
(长寿) among senior citizens.
Glass cautions that most studies don"t
7
prove a causal link between greenness and health, but they"re nonetheless helping spur action. In September the US House of Representatives
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the delightfully named No Child Left Inside Act to encourage public initiatives aimed at exposing kids to the outdoors.
Finding green space is not always easy, and you may have to work a bit to get your family a little grass and trees. If you live in a suburb or a city with good parks, take
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of what"s there. Your children in particular will love it—and their bodies and minds will be
10
to you.
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B. allocate J. grateful
C. analysis K. hypotheses
D. approved L. necessarily
E. attribute M. published
F. circulated N. shrinking
G. curiously O. vital
H. fatal
