The restorative effect of well-designed open space on the physiological health of the obese adults in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

It has been found that the restorative environment literature heavily focused on the relationship between experiencing open spaces and psychological health. Yet, the effect of open spaces on physiological health and wellbeing did not received similar attentions. According to World Health Organization, obesity and its related diseases become a critical physiological health issue, especially in Saudi Arabia. Saudi citizens have been recorded among the highest in obesity. This highlights the need of strategies that involve open spaces to control the prevalence of obesity and improve the human physiological health. Thus, this study attempts to identify the physiological restorative effect of open spaces on the obese adult males before and after engaging in physical activities by measuring the changes in the glucose level in the blood and the blood pressure, in the city of Yanbu Alsenayah, which is a well-designed city in Saudi Arabia. The data was collected over five days by monitoring the glucose level, blood pressure level, and heartbeat rate of 38 obese adult males before and after the usage of open spaces. The collected data was analyzed by using SPSS Version 24. The results suggest that there are differences in the readings of the glucose level and blood pressure of the respondents. It indicates that engaging in physical activities in well-designed open spaces, controls obesity and related diseases. Also, it suggests that the design and the facilities at well-designed open spaces attract and motivate the users to be physically active which improve the weight loss.