The DOI matches its Crossref record; 96 of the 96 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Walking on sunshine: scoping review of the evidence for walking and mental health
Open accessAbstract
Background/objectives: Walking has well-established positive relationships with, and effects on, physical health. In contrast, while poor mental health contributes substantially to global health burden, an overview of the benefits from walking has not previously been published. We aimed to scope the literature and present what is known, and highlight what is not known, about walking and mental health. Methods: Design: Scoping review. Data sources: Ovid (Medline), ProQuest, Web of Science. Screening and reporting: 13 014 records were identified and screened by a team of researchers. Included full texts were analysed and reported according to mental health outcome. Results: For the 8 mental health outcomes (identified a priori), there were a total of 5 systematic reviews and 50 individual papers included. Depression had the most evidence and existing systematic reviews were reported. Evidence for anxiety, psychological stress, psychological well-being, subjective well-being and social isolation and loneliness varied in volume and effectiveness, but no harmful effects were identified. There were no studies for walking and resilience. The setting and context of walking seems to be important variables. Conclusion: The evidence base that suggests walking benefits mental health is growing, but remains fragmented and incomplete for some important outcomes. Policy and national guidelines should promote the known mental health benefits of increased walking and future research should directly address the gaps we have identified.
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“The results also support the growing literature that activity in greenspace yields greater improvements in mental health than does activity completed indoors or in a built urban environment [43,44,52].”
From Walking Green: Developing an Evidence Base for Nature Prescriptions (2019) · cites this paper as [43]
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Citations
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Metadata
- Authors
- Kelly, P., Williamson, C., Niven, A. G., Hunter, R., Mutrie, N., & Richards, J.
- Affiliations
- University of Edinburgh (GB)
- Queen's University Belfast (GB)
- The University of Sydney (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Kelly, Paul
- Venue
- British Journal of Sports Medicine
- Publisher
- BMJ
- Published
- 2018-05-31
- Volume
- 52
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 800-806
- ISSN
- 0306-3674 (ISSN-L)
- 1473-0480
- OpenAlex
- W2807164794
- Cited by
- 253
- References
- 96
- Citations by year
- 2026: 21 · 2025: 42 · 2024: 39 · 2023: 52 · 2022: 30 · 2021: 35 · 2020: 22 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 2
- FWCI
- 2.27
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- pure.qub.ac.uk
- Licence
- other-oa
- Locations
- British Journal of Sports Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research Portal (Queen's University Belfast) (acceptedVersion, other-oa)
- HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
- Edinburgh Research Explorer (University of Edinburgh) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Physical Activity and Health
- Social Sciences › Urban Studies › Urban Green Space and Health
- Social Sciences › Transportation › Urban Transport and Accessibility
- Keywords
- walking, mental health, depression, anxiety, psychological stress, psychological well-being, subjective well-being, social isolation, loneliness, resilience, physical activity
- MeSH terms
- Anxiety, Depression, Humans, Loneliness, Mental Health, Stress, Psychological, Health Behavior, Walking, Resilience, Psychological
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