In the United States, residing along the coast stretches the average life expectancy by one year. It does not happen to those who live inside on lakes and rivers.
The feeling of well -being that you feel after a week of walks by the sea to breathe Salseti would have, in the long run, tangible benefits on your health. Living near the sea stretches life: science has already shown it in the past, but now a study conducted on US citizens who reside on the oceanic coasts adds more details.
Meanwhile, the research, published in the scientific journal Environmental Researchclarifies that rivers and lakes in the hinterland do not guarantee the same beneficial effect. And then, he adds that – in addition to the positive influence of air and water – on the year of life earned they could weigh the pockets, full, of those who can afford a house near the sea.
There is water and water
A group of researchers from Ohio State University has analyzed the data on the population in over 66,000 census areas of the United States and has put them in relation to the proximity to the water mirrors.
Previous studies had detected a correlation between life near waterways and better health (minor obesity rates and better heart health, thanks to greater ease to perform physical activity). But the new research detected this positive effect, only for those who lived near the sea.
Those who resided within 50 km from the coast had an average life expectancy of a year or more than the 79 -year -old national average. While those who lived in urban areas in the hinterland near rivers or lakes of at least 10 square km of surface was to have a life expectancy of about 78 years, that is, about a year lower than the average.
“We thought it was possible that any type of” blue space “offered the same beneficial effect, and we were surprised to see such a significant and clear difference between those who lived near the coast and those close to internal waters” explains Jianyong Wu, professor of environmental health sciences that coordinated the study. “Along the coastal areas, you live longer.”
The income also counts
In addition to the best air quality, the year of life earned could be linked to better recreational opportunities and ease in transport, to a lower susceptibility of coastal cities to drought and a more factor more … material, that is, income.
From the data it emerged that those who live along the coast has a higher average income, a protective element for health (trivially, because you can spend more on prevention exams, or for better nutrition).
On the other hand, greater levels of pollution, poverty, lack of places and safe opportunities to be physically active, and a greater risk of floods could affect the lower life expectancy of those who live in the cities of the hinterland.
At the environmental level, the most significant difference between the two residential contexts examined would however seem the lower prevalence of torrid days and the lowest maximum daily temperatures that the residents near the coast enjoy. The sea would therefore act as a bearing against the extreme and unhealthy temperatures of the summers of the climatic crisis.
