Garden Sheds and Industrial Buildings Allotment exercise 'is great', garden shed owners told

Allotment exercise 'is great', garden shed owners told

16:11:20 30th November 2010

Garden shed owners should tend to their allotments regularly as this can count as a form of exercise, a green fingered expert has claimed.

Lucy Halsall, editor at Grow Your Own Magazine, said that gentle digging, weeding and sowing requires bending and stretching, which helps to keep people supple.

Her comments follow the publication of research by the Wageningen University and Research Centre in the Netherlands, which found that people who have an allotment tend to be significantly healthier than those who do not.

The researchers claim that this especially true for those over the age of 60.

Study leader Agnes van den Berg, said: "Our findings provide the first direct empirical evidence for health benefits of allotment gardens."

"Having an allotment garden may promote an active lifestyle and contribute to healthy ageing," she added.

Ms Van den Berg went on to suggest that governments and local authorities should do more to protect and enhance allotments. ADNFCR-2655-ID-800263691-ADNFCR

Robin Antill+

garden sheds in 1979.

31 years experience.

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