Combined green exercise improved questionnaire scores in older adults
Scores for quality of life, depression and alexithymia improved with a program combining green exercise, aerobic activity and resistance training.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Older adults assigned to a weekly combined exercise program had better quality-of-life, depression and alexithymia scores than the control group when the program ended. This supports a benefit of the package tested, but the abstract does not isolate what exercising in a natural environment added to aerobic and resistance activity.
The abstract does not describe the control group's activities or give score-point changes. It also does not report whether benefits persisted after the program ended.
What researchers found
Quality-of-life total score
WHOQOL-OLD scale at week 12: combined exercise versus control, p < 0.001; score-point changes were not reported.
What the questionnaires measured
The trial used separate questionnaires for quality of life, depression and alexithymia, meaning difficulty identifying and describing feelings. The reported improvements concern those scale scores; the abstract does not report changes in clinical diagnoses.
What the setting contributed
Because green exercise, aerobic activity and resistance training were delivered together, this comparison cannot isolate the contribution of nature. The abstract reports no separate comparison with otherwise equivalent exercise outside a natural setting.
The original publication
Green Exercise for Emotional Health: Effects on Alexithymia, Depression, and Quality of Life in Older Adults-A Randomised Controlled Trial.
Mete E, Benli RK, Cinbaz G et al.
Psychogeriatrics · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41738474
- Record checked
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