Physical Activity and Feelings of Energy and Fatigue

Abstract

Approximately 20% of adults worldwide report persistent fatigue. Physical activity is a healthful behaviour that has promise for combating feelings of fatigue and low energy. This article summarises the epidemiological literature that examined the association between physical activity and feelings of energy and fatigue. Twelve population-based studies conducted between January 1945 and February 2005 that concurrently measured physical activity and feelings of energy and fatigue were located. All of the studies suggested that there was an association between physical activity and a reduced risk of experiencing feelings of low energy and fatigue when active adults were compared with sedentary peers (odds ratio = 0.61; 95% CI 0.52, 0.72). The effect was heterogeneous and varied according to study design and the energy/fatigue measure used in the study. Because epidemiological comparisons cannot establish direction of causality, standard criteria for evaluating strength of evidence in epidemiological studies (i.e. strength of association, temporal sequence, consistency, dose response and biological plausibility) were used to judge whether the observed association between physical activity and feelings of energy and fatigue suggest causality in the absence of adequate experimental evidence. There was agreement among the studies suggesting a strong, consistent, temporally appropriate dose-response relationship between physical activity and feelings of energy and fatigue. No compelling evidence has confirmed any plausible biological mechanisms that explain the apparent protective effect of physical activity against feelings of low energy and fatigue. Nonetheless, the epidemiological evidence is sufficiently strong to justify better controlled prospective cohort studies and randomised controlled trials.

A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Effect of Aerobic Exercise Training on Feelings of Energy and Fatigue in Sedentary Young Adults with Persistent Fatigue

“…Vigor scores for the exercise groups, but not the control group, were increased from baseline and reached their highest point during the final week of the investigation. The vigor score results are consistent with results from large cross-sectional studies suggesting that increased feelings of energy should accompany small increases in regular physical activity [2]. …”

“…Chronic exercise has promise for improving fatigue among the sedentary [2, 4, 16]. The present study used a randomized controlled trial design and found that (a) the rate at which feelings of fatigue changed over the course of 6 weeks of exercise training was dependent on exercise intensity, (b) the rate at which feelings of energy changed over the course of 6 weeks of exercise training was similar for the low- and moderate-intensity conditions and both exercise conditions differed from the control, and (c) changes in feelings of energy and fatigue were independent of changes in aerobic fitness.…”

“…In community samples, persistent fatigue (that is symptom scores ≥half an SD from the population mean for ≥30 days) is a problem for 20% of adults in the community [1] and is associated with physical inactivity [2]. Sedentary groups with well-defined medical conditions (for example cancer and heart disease) or unexplained fatigue syndromes report improved feelings of fatigue after chronic exercise [3,4,5,6], but few studies have involved those with persistent fatigue who neither have a medical condition nor have reached diagnostic criteria for an unexplained fatigue syndrome [7,8,9,10,11,12,13].…”

Aerobic exercises alleviate symptoms of fatigue related to inflammatory cytokines in obese patients with type 2 diabetes.

“…Data from observational studies suggest that low levels of physical activity are associated with higher levels of fatigue in patients with type 2 diabetes itive effects of regular physical activity on alleviating symptoms of fatigue 19,20 .…”

Acute Effects of Aerobic Exercise on Feelings of Energy in Relation to Age and Sex

“…Research conducted recently has paid particular attention to the influence of single sessions of exercise on feelings of energy (e.g., Puetz, 2006), and more globally on positive activated affect (PAA; e.g., Reed & Ones, 2006). PAA is derived from Russell's circumplex model of affect (Russell, 1980) and is the quadrant in the model that refers to affective states Running head: ACUTE EXERCISE AND FEELINGS OF ENERGY 4 of high arousal and high pleasure.…”