New study reveals how your neighbourhood impacts your health: Key factors for students to consider when moving
By Megan Marr, September 21 2024—
A recent study by an interdisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Calgary uncovered some key findings about how your neighbourhood may affect your health-related fitness.
In an interview with the Gauntlet, Levi Frehlich — a PhD candidate at the University of Calgary and the lead author on the study — explained what the team was looking to observe.
“We know that where you live… has influence over your physical activity levels. What we didn’t know was [whether] that change in physical activity translates to changes in fitness outcomes,” said Frehlich.
Two key findings emerged from the study, each about how different aspects of your neighbourhood impact health.
“What we found was that neighbourhoods with higher walkability [were] associated with lower levels of body fat percentage in this population,” said Frehlich. “Higher levels of greenspace was associated with higher grip strength in this population.”
Frehlich suggested that the link between greenspace and grip strength may stem from the increased opportunities for resistance training in areas with more greenspace, though the research is still emerging.
“We do think that greenspace might offer more chance[s] for recreational activity such as sports or you know we see bootcamps going on in parks or even outdoor gyms are becoming popular as well,” said Frehlich. “Perhaps more engagement in resistance training activities in these green areas could lead to those changes in fitness measures.”
The study was conducted using data on Albertans, collected from the Alberta Tomorrow Project, but Frehlich noted that other studies using Canadian-wide statistics found similar results.
Frehlich shared a few tips on how students can use the findings of this study when making housing choices that support their health and fitness.
“Try to think of how your neighbourhood can influence your daily activities,” said Frehlich. “Can you easily go and pick up some groceries or do you have to drive twenty minutes? Can you easily walk to school or work… or again do you have to drive an hour or more?”
For those that do not know an area or its walkability well, Frehlich suggested using Walk Score, a freely available online tool designed to determine the walkability of a neighbourhood.
Many students choose to live on or near campus for convenience. Frehlich commented on how the neighbourhoods in and around the University of Calgary score in terms of these health-related fitness outcomes.
“The walkability wouldn’t be as high as somewhere, say, downtown, where it’s very highly connected neighbourhoods, but it might be a mid-point compared to more really suburban areas where it’s mostly cul-de-sacs,” said Frehlich. “You’ve still got a little bit of that connectivity in and around campus.”
He also mentioned that the neighbourhoods surrounding campus have a higher greenspace value due to the high number of fields in these areas.
Frehlich discussed the importance of individuals knowing how their neighbourhood can impact their health and making housing choices with that in mind.
“We all know that activity is good for your health… and we’ve been telling people to do it but we might need that change to come from the individual itself. So if we get people thinking about these things when they’re purchasing a home or finding a place to live it might be a bottom-up approach instead of the health researchers telling the people to do it.”
He shared that his team is currently looking to study this concept further through their future research.
“We’re looking about how the perception of your neighbourhood influences your physical activity,” Frehlich said. “What if you think your neighbourhood is not walkable even though it is walkable? How does that change your activity levels? Based on kind of those outcomes we can find better ways to intervene or give awareness to the environment and health.”
For more information, you can read the full study here.