Is Gardening Good for You?

Gardening has been reported as the second most common leisure activity in adults over 65; the most common activity is walking. Texas A&M University and State University researchers wanted to evaluate the effects of gardening are quality-of-life and the physical activity level of seniors. They used the results of a questionnaire posted on a university website for one month, and reported their results in the journal HortTechnology.  

The 298 participants in the survey who were over 50 classified themselves as gardeners or non-gardeners by answering "yes" or "no" to the question "do you garden?” All of them went on to complete a modified version of the Life Satisfaction Inventory A (LSIA) that yielded their perceptions of personal life satisfaction and levels of physical activity. There were additional multiple-choice questions concerning levels of physical activity, and perceptions of overall health and well-being.

Analysis showed statistically significant differences in comparisons of overall life satisfaction scores, with gardeners receiving higher average scores indicating more positive results on the LSIA. Four individual quality-of-life statements provided significantly more positive answers by gardeners compared to non-gardeners; these covered plans for the future, self perceived energy levels, personal reports of physical activity, and perceptions of personal health.

The same investigators reported a second study in the same edition of HortTechnology, which was aimed at evaluating a possible relationship between gardening and consumption of fruits and vegetables in older people. As expected, gardeners were more likely to consume vegetables when compared with non-gardeners. However, there was no difference between the two groups with regard to fruit consumption.

Taken together, these two studies strongly suggest that gardening is good for you with regard to overall life satisfaction, physical activity, energy levels, general health, and vegetable consumption. That seems to me to be enough reason to get outside and pull up a few weeds.