Document Detail


Review article: do exercise and fitness protect against stress-induced health complaints? A review of the literature.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  19828772     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
BACKGROUND: Understanding how exercise influences health is important in designing public health interventions. At present, evidence suggests that there is a positive relationship between exercise and health. However, whether this relationship is partly due to the stress-moderating impact of exercise has been less frequently investigated although more and more people are taxed by stressful life circumstances. METHODS: A comprehensive review of studies testing the potential of exercise as a stress-buffer was conducted (including literature from 1982 to 2008). The findings are based on a narrative review method. Specific criteria were taken into account to evaluate causality of the evidence. RESULTS: About half of the studies reported at least partly supportive results in the sense that people with high exercise levels exhibit less health problems when they encounter stress. The causality analyses show that stress-moderation effects were consistently found in different samples and with different methodological approaches. Although more support results from cross-sectional studies, exercise-based stress-buffer effects were also found in prospective, longitudinal and quasi-experimental investigations. CONCLUSIONS: This review underscores the relevance of exercise as a public health resource. Recommendations are provided for future research. More prospective and experimental studies are needed to provide insight into how much exercise is necessary to trigger stress-buffer effects. Furthermore, more information is warranted to conclude which sort of exercise has the strongest impact on the stress-illness-relationship.
Authors:
Markus Gerber; Uwe Pühse
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Review     Date:  2009-10-14
Journal Detail:
Title:  Scandinavian journal of public health     Volume:  37     ISSN:  1651-1905     ISO Abbreviation:  Scand J Public Health     Publication Date:  2009 Nov 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2009-10-29     Completed Date:  2009-12-09     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  100883503     Medline TA:  Scand J Public Health     Country:  Sweden    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  801-19     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Institute of Exercise and Health Sciences, University of Basel, Birsstrasse 320, CH-4052 Basel, Switzerland. markus.gerber@unibas.ch
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Age Factors
Exercise*
Humans
Leisure Activities
Life Style
Physical Fitness*
Public Health*
Risk Factors
Self Concept
Sex Factors
Stress, Physiological
Stress, Psychological / complications,  prevention & control*

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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