Want to be healthy? Move to the beach

It's an easy enough joke to make, that the further away you get from the ocean, the wider the waistbands become. But is there any truth to the view that people living by the sea are generally more healthy? It looks like there really might be, at least in England.

By trawling through data from the UK census, the researchers found a link between self-reported "good health", and proximity to the sea. While the effect was small, it became more pronounced among economically deprived communities.

The researchers think that the difference could be due to more chances for physical exercise — but also the stress relief living near the ocean seems to bring.


I guess that idea of quitting your job to go teach scuba in Thailand sounds more and more appealing, huh?

Top image: Mike Baird/Flickr.