Group exercise for adults and elderly: Determinants of participation in group exercise and its associations with health outcome

Abstract

Physical activity may be carried out alone or in a group. No comprehensive studies have been conducted on the associations between group exercise and health outcomes, the mechanisms underlying the associations with health outcomes, and determinants of participation in group exercise. The aim of this article is to review the associations and mechanisms between group exercise and health outcomes, and the determinants of participation in group exercise among healthy adults and the elderly without specific illnesses. Group exercise may reduce the risk of physical and mental illness by improving adherence to physical activity, psychological factors, and social relationships. While there may potentially be various determinants of group exercise, previous research has only examined specific demographic and environmental factors. Among the studies discussed in this review, few studies examined the differences between individual exercise and group exercise. Thus, the unique effects and determinants of group exercise remain unclear. Further studies examining these points are needed to develop a more complete knowledge base on group exercise.

Exercising alone versus with others and associations with subjective health status in older Japanese: The JAGES Cohort Study

“…Social relationships may be one mechanism underlying the health benefits of exercising with others420. Reviews have indicated that poor social relationships can increase mortality risk67, and similar results were also observed in older Japanese adults21.…”

“…As we could not use specific social relationships in exercising with others, future studies are needed to use specific social relationships in exercising with others to examine whether these social relationships mediate the association between exercising with others and health. Other possible mechanisms that may have a positive association with exercising with others are: adherence to exercise routines232425, self-esteem and other psychological factors5, social capital26 and other social factors4. For example, those who exercise with others may have continued to exercise for more years at the time of the survey than those who exercise alone.…”

“…This question has been previously discussed by distinguishing physical activity into exercising alone versus with others4. The mechanisms for health benefits from exercising with others may include not only physiological effects through physical activity, but also psychological and social factors.…”

Influence of social participation on life satisfaction and depression among Chinese elderly: Social support as a mediator

“…Empirical evidence also illustrated that mental health is significantly associated with social participation (Rashedi, Gharib, & Yazdani, 2014), and the role of social participation in the mental health of the elderly has been demonstrated by many researches (Kanamori, Takamiya, & Inoue, 2015;Takagi, Kondo, & Kawachi, 2013;Tomioka, Kurumatani, & Hosoi, 2017).…”

The practice of active rest by workplace units improves personal relationships, mental health, and physical activity among workers

“…In addition to improving physical health such as decreasing body weight and blood pressure, exercise training has been shown to improve mental health [4][5][6] . The performance of group exercise in the same workplace is expected to improve workplace communication 7,8) . Namely, the performance of group exercise in the same workplace may make it easier for workers to obtain support from supervisors and colleagues.…”