Garden Fit

Common sense suggests that children who pursue outdoor activities enjoy better health. Children who engage in gardening are likely to appreciate vegetables, improving their nutrition and increasing their physical fitness at the same time. Children who form an active bond with nature—learning what this earth is made of as well as inventing ways to play in it—will grow stronger mentally, emotionally and spiritually. It makes sense, but as yet there has been no scientific research measuring exactly how this works.

CGW's Education Director Nathan Larson has coined the phrase "Meaningful Fitness" to describe an important component of what we do at Troy Gardens. Meaningful fitness is not an exercise program or a sport. Nathan describes it simply as "engaging in physical fitness to grow food." Meaningful fitness at Troy Gardens leads to a personal relationship with nature, and we believe that relationship is profoundly meaningful.

This summer at the Troy Kids' Garden, Meaningful Fitness manifests itself in a new research study called Garden Fit. The study emerged from conversation among Nathan Larson; Sam Dennis, Professor of Landscape Architecture at UW-Madison and member of the Board of Directors of CGW; and Sam’s colleague, Dr. Alex Adams, an MD in Family Practice with a PhD in Nutrition, who specializes in Pediatric Fitness. Dr. Adams has worked extensively with Native American communities in Wisconsin and South Dakota. Sam has worked with the same Native American communities, designing outdoor spaces for children. Instead of “fixed play equipment” like swings and monkey bars, Sam believes kids benefit more from open, natural space to move around in—space to devise their own games and endeavors, natural materials from which to create forts and bridges, paths and long grass for exploring. "Instead of fixed play equipment," Sam says, "you get sand and dirt and running water . . ."

Before and after the eight-week Garden Fit summer program, a complex series of measurements is taken of each child:

• Body composition (% fat)
• Resting metabolic rate (calories burned at rest)
• Blood analysis for: carotenoids, fasting insulin, fasting glucose, interleukin 6, and cross reactive protein
• Fitness testing
• Dietary analysis using Food Frequency
• Questionnaires
• Total energy expenditure

A precise before-and-after picture of the children’s’ fitness will be revealed by these measurements. Studies show children at risk for obesity are likely to gain weight over the summer, because they are actually less active then. Even if the children in this study maintain the same weight by the end of the study, that too will be a hugely important finding. The Garden Fit study is a pilot; the size of this particular group is too small to be statistically important. But if the data produced is promising, the Garden Fit team hopes to expand this work by seeking substantial support from the National Institutes of Health; in particular, by creating similar studies in Native American communities in Wisconsin, where the risk of childhood obesity and the panorama of illness that goes with it are especially dire.

This excerpt is from "Meaningful Fitness," by Marge Pitts appearing in the Community GroundWorks Troy Gardens Gazette.