Health · Fitness & Nutrition · 5 hrs ago
Nature contact is linked to intuitive eating through body appreciation
A survey of 500 UK adults linked more contact with nature to more intuitive eating.
Intuitive eating means responding to hunger and fullness rather than following strict food rules.
The survey was led by social psychologist Viren Swami with colleagues in the UK, Austria, Norway and Malaysia.
When researchers considered how participants felt about themselves, the direct link between nature contact and intuitive eating nearly disappeared.
Body appreciation was the strongest link, while self-compassion also helped explain the connection.
The findings show an association, not cause and effect, because participants completed the online survey just once in May 2026.
The results may help explain how time in nature and attitudes toward the body relate to eating habits, but the survey does not establish that spending time outdoors changes how people eat.
A survey of 500 adults in the United Kingdom found that greater contact with nature was associated with higher intuitive eating scores.
The direct link between nature contact and intuitive eating was no longer statistically significant after researchers accounted for body appreciation and self-compassion.
Body appreciation was the strongest pathway linking nature contact with intuitive eating in the researchers’ model.
The survey captured responses at one point in time, so it cannot show that nature contact causes changes in eating habits.
- Who
- Researchers led by Viren Swami surveyed 500 adults in the United Kingdom.
- What
- The survey found an association between greater nature contact and higher intuitive eating scores, with body appreciation and self-compassion accounting for much of the link.
- When
- Participants answered the online survey in May 2026.
- Where
- The survey involved adults in the United Kingdom.
- Why
- The researchers suggested that nature contact may be linked to intuitive eating through greater body appreciation and self-compassion; the survey cannot establish cause and effect.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Participants answered the online survey once.
Earth.com published its report on the survey’s findings.
- Participants
- 500 adults in the United Kingdom
- Survey date
- May 2026
- Average time in nature
- About 19 hours per week
- Median reported time in nature
- Half reported 12.5 hours or fewer per week
- Survey fee
- £1.80 per participant
What people are saying
When people have greater contact with nature, they are more likely to develop the ability and skills to be self-compassionate