‘Green Gyms’ to Boost Health

The health benefits of "green gyms" – exercise clubs that clear woodlands and build dry stone walls – is one of many radical ideas a proposed public health institute in the Westcountry wants to investigate. It plans to build a world-leading research establishment in Cornwall looking at how the environment affects health.

The Department of Health has awarded a Westcountry-based coalition of universities and health bodies pounds20 million to test new treatments in areas, including heart disease, diabetes and mental illness.

Part of the funding will go towards the mooted Environment and Human Health Institute, a multi-million-pound hub that would examine how issues such as climate change and pollution should influence health policy.

It hopes that the successful application, endorsed by an international panel of health experts, will boost another bid for pounds18 million of European Union funding.

Sir John Tooke, chairman of the South West Peninsula Clinical Research Collaboration, said the Westcountry could develop an "institute of international quality" in a short time.

The institute would look in-depth at claims such as those that surround green gyms, a growing trend where enthusiasts repair footpaths and create community gardens.

"There is evidence that exercising in the natural environment offers you more than going to the gym," said Sir John.

The institute plan is being driven by the Peninsula Medical School, NHS South West and the universities of Exeter and Plymouth, which would all play a role in the research.

(c) 2008 Western Morning News, The Plymouth (UK). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.