Volunteering is good for the heart
The volunteer activity is good for the heart, even at an early age, according to concludes a research of scientists from the Faculty of Education and the Department of Psychology at the University of British Columbia, in Vancuver (Canada), published in the magazine 'JAMA Pediatrics'.
"It is encouraging to see how a social intervention to support community members also improves the health of adolescents," says Hannah Schreier, who carried out this research during her PhD studies at the UBC.
Volunteering fosters empathy
Researchers analyzed students from downtown Vancouver in two groups, one who volunteered regularly for ten weeks and one who was on the waiting list to volunteer. The scientists measured their body mass index (BMI), inflammation and cholesterol levels before and after the study, as well as assessing students' self-esteem, mental health, humor and empathy.
The volunteer group, which spent an hour a week working with elementary children in after-school programs in their neighborhood, after ten weeks had lower cholesterol and lower inflammation and BMI levels than the young people who were on the waiting list to perform volunteer work.
"The volunteers who reported the greatest Increases in empathy, altruistic behavior and mental health they were the ones who also recorded the greatest improvements in their cardiovascular health, "said Schreier, of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, USA Previous studies have already shown that psychosocial factors, such as stress, Depression and well-being play a role in the disease.
