Urban Farm DB
Research catalogue
Database research record2013·United States

Harvesting More Than Vegetables: The Potential Weight Control Benefits of Community Gardening

Cathleen D. Zick, Ken R. Smith, Lori Kowaleski‐Jones, Claire Uno, Brittany J. Merrill

American Journal of Public Health

Urban Farm DB summary

This study in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, examined the association between community gardening and healthy body weight, comparing BMI data from 198 gardeners to control groups of neighbors, siblings, and spouses. Both women and men community gardeners had significantly lower BMIs than their neighbors, with estimated reductions of -1.84 for women and -2.36 for men. Gardeners also showed lower odds of being overweight or obese compared to their neighbors.