People living in green neighborhoods tend to have healthier babies, according to a new joint study conducted by the Oregon State University and the University of British Columbia.
The study found that pregnant women living in areas with lush landscaping, more trees and greens delivered healthy-weight babies at full term.
The researchers said that though the exact cause of the outcome was yet to be determined, the fact that green neighborhoods reduced stress, increased social interaction and induced a sense of belongingness to the community in residents could be the reason.
In fact, a separate research proved that living in friendlier neighborhoods could keep heart attacks at bay, showing how psychological well-being played a great role on health.
For the current study, the experts analyzed more than 64,000 births in the Vancouver, British Columbia, area between 1999 and 2002 and controlled for factors like air pollution, neighborhood income, walkability in the neighborhood and noise.
The scientists found that pre-term births were 20 percent lower among mothers hailing from a greener neighborhood when compared to their urban-resident counterparts. Moderate pre-term births were also 13 percent lower.
They also found that babies from greener neighborhoods weighed 45 grams more than the urban babies.
"This was a surprise," Perry Hystad, an environmental epidemiologist in the College of Public Health and Human Sciences at Oregon State and lead author of the study, said in a statement.
"We expected the association between greenness and birth outcomes to disappear once we accounted for other environmental exposures such as air pollution and noise. The research really suggests that greenness affects birth outcomes in other ways, such as psychologically or socially," Hytad added.
Hystad noted that though the change in weight of the babies compared was very minute, the fact that it varied across board was important.
The experts also asserted that since most people live in urban areas today, it is of utmost importance to build greener spaces in the concrete world to promote healthier living and lifestyles.
A recent report by the Prague Post revealed that more real estate investors are looking to pour their money into green buildings.
"Green building is not peanuts for idealists. It's relevant for society. ... Green buildings make sense economically," Jürg Zwahlen, senior director at the Czech Republic branch of CBRE, said at a conference.
"Green buildings" offer sustainable and healthy operation facilities. These buildings focus on efficient energy consumption, while preserving and protecting the surrounding environment. Urban planning has also come into the "health" spotlight.
A recent research pointed out how cities with more intersections were healthier and another showed how the number of abandoned buildings in an area could negatively impact social relationships and mutual trust in the community.
Another one also showed how living in a neighbourhood with more foreclosed properties could lead to high blood pressure.
