“A fundamental – and agonizing – paradox defines American public health in the 21st century. While Americans are more gravely afflicted by chronic disease than ever before, we have also never had such an array of treatments for our deadliest diseases so readily available to us. Deepening this paradox is a stunning fact: Many of the most potent and lasting treatments for our national epidemics come not from pharmaceutical labs but from changed lifestyles.
“. . . Decades of medical research attest to the preventive and curative effects of increased fitness—particularly outdoor exercise and walking-oriented lifestyles—on children and adults. And there is growing public consensus on the priority of offering children smoke-free environments in which to grow up (not to mention tobacco-free adult role models to emulate).
“Indeed, leaders from both the public health and park and recreation fields make compelling arguments that custodians of our green spaces, trails and greenways, recreation facilities, community centers, and playgrounds hold the keys to our most widely accessible dispensary of national health solutions . . .”
A recent article in Parks & Recreation, the journal of the National Recreation and Park Association, examined a number of ways in which parks may, and do, serve as resources for helping the members of the public maintain and/or improve their health.
To access the complete article, please visit:
Parks & Recreation: 5 Key Trends in Parks and Public Health (November 2012)
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