Physical exercise and psychological well being: a critical review.

Scully, Deirdre; Kremer, John; Meade, Mary; Graham, Rodger; Dudgeon, Katrin

doi:10.1136/bjsm.32.2.111

Cited by 598 publications

(460 citation statements)

References 86 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

374

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…During the interim decades such benefits have been extended to cover aspects of mental as well as physical health (Scully, Kremer, Meade et al, 1998). By 2009 physical inactivity was being described as one of the "most important public health problems of the 21 st century" (Blair, 2009) and more recently as a 'pandemic' (Kohl, Craig, Lambert et al, 2012).…”

Section: And I Know It's Not Your (Ie the Moderator's) Remit But Imentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring lay views on physical activity and their implications for public health policy. A case study from East Belfast

Prior¹,

Scott²,

Hunter³

et al. 2014

Social Science & Medicine

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

It is now recognised that inactive lifestyles underpin much of the disease burden evident in the richer nations of the world. Indeed, the WHO has identified physical inactivity as a 'global public health problem' and has established minimum physical activity (PA) targets for people at different stages of the life-course. Yet, according to WHO, just under 1/3 of working age adults across the globe meet those targets and it is not at all clear how the disjunction between the recommendations of policy makers and the behaviour of ordinary people might be surmounted. Using an opportunity to examine the impact of an urban regeneration project on community residents in East Belfast (Northern Ireland) this paper examines the views of some 113 people on how to increase rates of PA in an area of multiple deprivation. The results of the analysis suggest that lay people rarely consider PA as a discrete issue, or one that centres on individuals and their motivation, but rather as one component in a complex web of concerns, processes and events that include such things as the actions of neighbours and relatives, material and political environments, vandalism, violence, and the weather. We explore and unravel the nature of those concerns using novel methods of content analysis that generate 'issue webs'. Particular attention is paid to the ways in which lay people conceptualize 'activity' and to the manner in which they point to ways of encouraging activity that are rooted in everyday life rather than in the corpocentric, agent-centred, and sport dominated strategies favoured by local policy makers. Our results support those who argue that interventions to increase rates of PA need to move beyond behavioural approaches that focus on individuals and consider the social, political and material contexts in which 'activity' occurs. Research Highlights. Challenges the dominance of behavioural approaches to public health interventions. Supports a social ecology perspective on policy relating to physical activity. Introduces the notion of 'issue webs' as a focus for qualitative research. Explores the complexity of public health problems in a conflict zone.

show abstract

Section: And I Know It's Not Your (Ie the Moderator's) Remit But Imentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring lay views on physical activity and their implications for public health policy. A case study from East Belfast

Prior¹,

Scott²,

Hunter³

et al. 2014

Social Science & Medicine

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…These subjective descriptions are similar to the claims of distorted perception, atypical thought patterns, diminished awareness of oneÕs surroundings, and intensified introspective understanding of oneÕs sense of identity and emotional status made by people who describe trance states. Moreover, exercise has well-established beneficial effects on mood states, particularly stress, anxiety, and depression, (for reviews, see Glenister, 1996;Salmon, 2001;Scully, Kremer, Meade, Graham, & Dudgeon, 1998).…”

Section: Endurance Runningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional neuroanatomy of altered states of consciousness: The transient hypofrontality hypothesis

Dietrich

2003

Consciousness and Cognition

391

286

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

It is the central hypothesis of this paper that the mental states commonly referred to as altered states of consciousness are principally due to transient prefrontal cortex deregulation. Supportive evidence from psychological and neuroscientific studies of dreaming, endurance running, meditation, daydreaming, hypnosis, and various druginduced states is presented and integrated. It is proposed that transient hypofrontality is the unifying feature of all altered states and that the phenomenological uniqueness of each state is the result of the differential viability of various frontal circuits. Using an evolutionary approach, consciousness is conceptualized as hierarchically ordered cognitive function. Higher-order structures perform increasingly integrative functions and thus contribute more sophisticated content. Although this implies a holistic approach to consciousness, such a functional hierarchy localizes the most sophisticated layers of consciousness in the zenithal higher-order structure: the prefrontal cortex. The hallmark of altered states of consciousness is the subtle modification of behavioral and cognitive functions that are typically ascribed to the prefrontal cortex. The theoretical framework presented yields a number of testable hypotheses.

show abstract

“…Participation in exercise is known to be associated with decreased symptoms of depression and anxiety and increased self-esteem in the general population [18][19][20][21]. The optimal mode of exercise (i.e., aerobic versus nonaerobic) required to induce these psychosocial benefits is uncertain.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychosocial effects of an exercise program in older persons who fall

Means¹,

O’Sullivan²,

Rodell³

2003

JRRD

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract-Falling is associated with psychosocial sequelae that may influence functional performance and fall risk. Exercise can improve psychosocial factors. To address the research questions (1) Do psychosocial variables differ among persons with and without falls? and (2) Among persons who fall, can exercise improve psychosocial variables? we evaluated psychosocial and functional performance variables in older persons with and without recent falls. A pretest and posttest design with a nonequivalent control group was used. Community-residing elderly individuals participated, 66 had falls in the past year (fallers) and 77 had no falls (nonfallers). Participants completed measures of self-esteem, depression, psychological impact, and functional performance at baseline and 6 weeks. Baseline descriptive characteristics for fallers and nonfallers were similar. Fallers then completed a 6-week exercise program. Exercise benefited fallers' self-esteem, depression, mobility, social role, social activity, and anxiety. Nearly 40% of fallers were clinically depressed before exercise and 24% were depressed after (p = 0.04). Psychosocial variables correlated significantly with quality of functional performance (p < 0.019). Among fallers, moderate exercise produced a significant improvement in psychosocial variables and functional performance (p < 0.045).

show abstract

Physical exercise and psychological well being: a critical review.

Cited by 598 publications

References 86 publications

Exploring lay views on physical activity and their implications for public health policy. A case study from East Belfast

Exploring lay views on physical activity and their implications for public health policy. A case study from East Belfast

Functional neuroanatomy of altered states of consciousness: The transient hypofrontality hypothesis

Psychosocial effects of an exercise program in older persons who fall

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About