Urban gardening and its associations with diet and health in Palau facing an obesity crisis
Abstract Despite growing evidence of urban gardening’s health benefits, studies in the Pacific Islands facing an obesity crisis remain extremely limited. In Palau, compared with non-gardeners, urban gardeners had a 0.86-point higher dietary diversity score ( p < 0.001 ), 2.92 kg/m 2 lower BMI ( p = 0.011 ), and 3.49-fold higher odds of reporting good health ( p < 0.001 ). These findings suggest the importance of integrating urban gardening into public health and spatial strategies.
Authors
- Akiko Iida (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4795-267X)
- Chihiro Tsuchiya (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4575-7555)
- Makoto Yokohari
- Yin Yin Nwe
- Christopher Kitalong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6312-3452)
- Takahiro Yamazaki (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4193-2221)
- Takuro Furusawa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7772-3053)
- Ngirbechat Arsenio
Institutions
- Rikkyo University (JP)
- Republic of Palau Ministry of Health (PW)
- Kobe University (JP)
- The University of Tokyo (JP)
- University of Guam (GU)
Publication Details
- Journal
- npj Urban Sustainability
- Published
- 2026-09-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s42949-026-00472-4
- Primary Topic
- Urban Agriculture and Sustainability
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science