Nature relatedness as a potential factor to promote physical activity and reduce sedentary behavior in Ecuadorian children

Abstract

Background Nature relatedness can be associated with health-related outcomes. This study aims to evaluate the associations of nature relatedness with physical activity and sedentary behavior. Methods A cross-sectional study involving 9–12 year old children living in Cuenca, Ecuador, was conducted between October 2018 and March 2019. Questionnaires were used to evaluate physical activity (PAQ-C), out-of-school sedentary behavior, nature relatedness and wellbeing. Associations of nature relatedness with physical activity, and sedentary behavior were evaluated using linear regression models or tobit regressions adjusted by age, sex, school type, wellbeing, and body mass index z-score. Results A total of 1028 children were surveyed (average age:10.4±1.22 years, 52% female.). Nature relatedness was positively associated with physical activity (β = 0.07; CI 95%: 0.05–0.09; p < 0.001) and non-screen-related sedentary leisure (β = 3.77 minutes; CI 95%: 0.76–6.68; p < 0.05); it was negatively associated with screen time (β = -5.59 minutes; CI 95%: -10.53–0.65; p < 0.05). Conclusions Findings suggest that nature relatedness is associated with physical activity and some sedentary behaviors among Ecuadorian school-age children. The promotion of nature relatedness has the potential to improve health.

Ecuadorian Children’s Willingness to Protect Endangered Species – Identifying Behavioral Predictors in a Biodiversity Hotspot

“…Cuenca is the society & animals (2023) 1-24 | 10.1163/15685306-bja10119 third-largest city in Ecuador and has a population of approximately half a million residents. It is an emerging city characterized by high quality-of-life indicators (Molina-Cando et al, 2021). The students filled out the questionnaire in their respective classrooms.…”

“…One way to achieve this is through environmental education programs in schools (Dornhoff et al, 2019;United Nations, 1992) To date, there have been few studies on knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to biodiversity issues among young people in Ecuador. However, it appears that children in Ecuador score relatively high in nature relatedness (Dornhoff et al 2019;Molina-Cando et al 2021). In addition, Ecuadorian adolescents report more concern about the consequences of environmental problems for egoistic and biospheric reasons, compared to German adolescents who were most concerned for altruistic reasons (Dornhoff et al, 2019).…”

Cultural Sets Shape Adult Conceptualizations and Relationships to Nature

“…One of the strongest theoretical explanations for connection to nature is the biophilia hypothesis, which states that individuals have an intrinsic affinity for nature [46,47]. Biophilia sustains the desire for nature connectedness (NC) [48][49][50] and its close constructs of "nature relatedness"(NR) [51][52][53][54] and "nature affinity" [55,56]. These concepts strongly signal individuals' predisposition for comfort in and valuation of nature [57].…”

Growing up green: a systematic review of the influence of greenspace on youth development and health outcomes

“…Despite growing evidence suggesting that greenspace exposure promotes healthy youth development, the past five decades have seen stark declines in youths’ interaction with nature( 6 ). These declines in youth nature contact have been empirically measured in high income countries, however research suggest that the same phenomenon is occurring in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)( 6 , 9 ). Researchers have attributed these declines to increased overscheduling of youths’ time, interaction with technology, fear of stranger danger, and other factors( 6 ).…”