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 __62__ tell a powerful story. The obesity epidemic began in the 1980s, and many people __63__ it to increased portion sizes and inactivity, but that can't be everything. Fast foods and TVs have been __64__ us for a long time. "Most experts agree that the changes were __65__ to something in the environment," says social epidemiologist Thomas Glass of The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. That something could be a __66__ of the green.
The new research, __67__ in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, isn't the first to associate greenery with better health, but it does get us closer __68__ identifying what works and why. At its most straightforward, a green neighborhood __69__ means more places for kids to play – which is __70__ since time spent outdoors is one of the strongest correlates of children's activity levels. But green space is good for the mind __71__: research by environmental psychologists has shown that it has cognitive __72__ for children with attention-deficit disorder. In one study, just reading __73__ in a green setting improved kids' symptoms.
__74__ to grassy areas has also been linked to __75__ stress and a lower body mass index (体重指数) among adults. And an __76__ of 3,000 Tokyo residents associated walkable green spaces with greater longevity (长寿) among senior citizens.
Glass cautions that most studies don't __77__ prove a causal link between greenness and health, but they're nonetheless helping spur action. In September the U. S. House of Representatives __78__ the delightfully named No Child Left Inside Act to encourage public initiatives aimed at exposing kids to the outdoors.
Finding green space is not __79__ 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 __80__ of what's there. Your children in particular will love it – and their bodies and minds will be __81__ to you.