Key points from article :
People living near parks & trees had longer telomeres, which are associated with longer lives and slower ageing.
Green spaces also encourage exercise and social interaction, boosting health.
Pollution & segregation in green areas negate the telomere-lengthening benefit.
Need for "level playing field" so everyone enjoys green spaces equally.
A 5% increase in a neighborhood’s green space was associated with a 1% reduction in the ageing of cells.
Exposure across life stages (childhood to middle age) may differ in impact.
“Green spaces generally linked to better health outcomes...using telomere length, a unique biomarker of ageing,” - Peter James, environmental epidemiologist at Harvard.
Study led by North Carolina State University, published in STOTEN.
