Green exercise has proved to bring greater increase in adults' self-esteem than exercise in urban or indoors settings. However, at the time of this publication, no empirical evidence had been presented on this relationship in children. This study aimed to examine, using an experimental design, the degree to which green exercise might influence self-esteem over and above regular exercise in school-aged children, as well as the influence of green exercise on perceived enjoyment and exertion.
A total of 86 participants (aged 11 and 12 years) were recruited from a school in the United Kingdom. Seventy-five participants completed two, 1.5 mile running courses in random order during two physical education classes, one around the urban school campus on a flat terrain, and one in a local country park that had an overall climb. Children's self-esteem was assessed using the Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale before and after exercise. Perceived exertion and overall enjoyment were measured at the end of the exercise. Fitness level and typical level of physical activity were also assessed.
The results of this study suggest that there was a significant effect of exercise on self-esteem, but there was no difference in self-esteem by condition; green exercise did not increase self-esteem over and above the change in self-esteem produced by regular exercise on an urban school campus. The fact that the green run took place during structured gym class with teachers present may have influenced children's sense of connectedness to nature during the run, which could have impacted change in self-esteem. Perceived enjoyment and exertion did not differ between green exercise and control exercise conditions.
Given that the green run was in fact more difficult suggested that green exercise felt easier and that green exercise can help more intense exercise feel more enjoyable. Physical fitness of students negatively correlated with perceived exertion in both conditions; the fitter the child, the less physically demanding the run was perceived to be. Similarly, the children who were typically more active perceived the control run as easier. However, the same was not true in the green exercise condition; physical activity was unrelated to perceived exertion meaning that exertion within the green condition was perceived similarly by children with differing levels of typical physical activity. Typical level of physical activity was positively related to enjoyment of the exercise in both conditions, but particularly in the control condition. Importantly, the green exercise was tolerated and enjoyed to the same extent by children with different levels of typical physical activity, suggesting that green exercise may have the potential to engage less active children in exercise.
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