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Public park spaces as a platform to promote healthy living: introducing a HealthPark concept

journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-19, 06:22 authored by Arena, R, Bond, S, O'Neill, R, Laddu, DR, Andrew HillsAndrew Hills, Lavie, CJ, McNeil, A
The concept of Healthy Living (HL) as a primary medical intervention continues to gain traction, and rightfully so. Being physically active, consuming a nutritious diet, not smoking and maintaining an appropriate body weight constitute the HL polypill, the foundation of HL medicine (HLM). Daily use of the HL polypill, working toward optimal dosages, portends profound health benefits, substantially reducing the risk of chronic disease [i.e., cardiovascular disease (CVD), pulmonary disease, metabolic syndromes, certain cancers, etc.] and associated adverse health consequences. To be effective and proactive, our healthcare system must rethink where its primary intervention, HLM, is delivered. Waiting for individuals to come to the traditional outpatient setting is an ineffective approach as poor lifestyle habits are typically well established by the time care is initiated. Ideally, HLM should be delivered where individuals live, work and go to school, promoting immersion in a culture of health and wellness. To this end, there is a growing interest in the use of public parks as a platform to promote the adoption of HL behaviors. The current perspectives paper provides a brief literature review on the use of public parks for HL interventions and introduces a new HealthPark model being developed in Chicago.

History

Publication title

Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases

Volume

60

Pagination

152-158

ISSN

0033-0620

Department/School

School of Health Sciences

Publisher

W B Saunders Co

Place of publication

United States

Rights statement

Copyright 2017 Elsevier Inc.

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Public health (excl. specific population health) not elsewhere classified

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