Physical Activity and Mental Health Promotion: The Natural Partnership
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/17465729200000002 |
| Published date | 01 January 2000 |
| Date | 01 January 2000 |
| Pages | 4-12 |
| Author | Kenneth Fox |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care |
nthe last decade there has been a substantial growth in
interest in physical activity as a medium
for public health promotion. This has been driven by the emergence
of strong epidemiological and experimental data that indicate that
sedentary living habits carry a substantial burden of risk for coronary
heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers.Accumulated studies
(Berlin & Colditz, 1990; Powell et al., 1987) show that the risk for all-
cause mortality due to inactivity is similar to thatof hypertension,
high
blood fats, and smoking, all of which have been targeted vigorously
through primary care and health promotion. Our bodies were
Idesigned for movement, and perhaps we should not be surprised to
find evidence of physical degeneration when they are inadequately
used. Conversely,we should expect regeneration and an improve-
ment in functioning
and fitness when they are reactivated. However,resourcing for the
promotion of physical activity among either diseased or healthy
populations remains low on the list of priorities.
Inactivity seems to be more widespread than ever. Greater
reliance on the car results in fewer miles walked per year.There are
fewer active occupations. Extensive availability of labour-saving
technology at home, at work and in the shopping environment is
accompanied by a dramatic increase in the attractiveness, choice
and usage of inactive home-based entertainment, including televi-
sion, computers, videos and sound systems. The recent dramatic
rise in incidence of obesity from 6% and 8% in men and women in
1980 to 17% and 20% in 1997 has been attributed largely to this
secular reduction in energyexpenditure (British Nutrition Foundation
Task Force, 1999; Martinez-González et al., 1999; Prentice & Jebb,
1995). Only about 20% of the population appear to be compensating
by exercising at levels that are optimal for health.
Although the case for exercise has been built largely on its
impact on physical health, there is growing interest in its potential to
influence mental health. The cost of mental disorders, in terms of
their demand on health services, social services and human suffer-
ing, is high. Although less well-defined,there seems also to be a
general malaise present in some sectors of society of lowmental
well-being characterised by emotional distress, low self-esteem,
poor body image, sense of hopelessness, and chronic stress, anxiety
and fatigue. Often termed ‘the worried well’, this sector of the popu-
lation places a further burden on the primary care system. Physical
activity involvement may offer a relatively cheap alternative or
adjunct treatment to drug therapy, the common solution, at least for
asubstantial proportion of
sufferers. In addition to its therapeutic potential, physical activity
may also have significant benefits for the prevention of mental dis-
orders and the
promotion of well-being in the general public.
Over a decade ago, the US National Institute
of Mental Health produced consensus statements regarding the
potential of exercise as a mode of treatment and prevention of men-
tal health problems. Several books emerged throughout the late ’80s
Physical Activity
and Mental Health Promotion:
The Natural Partnership
Kenneth R. Fox
Department of Exercise
and Health Sciences,
University of Bristol, UK
FEATURE
The case for physical activity has been established
through its impact on reduction in the risk of
physical ill-health such as coronary heart disease.
However,thereis increasing interest in its potential
for a) treating and preventing mental illness and
also b) the promotion of mental well-being in
the general public. The topic is now widely
studied with over 30 published narrative or
meta-analytic reviews of research into the effect
of exercise on constructs such as clinical or sub-
clinical depression or anxiety,self-esteem, affect
and mood, resilience to stress, cognitive function
or sleep. This paper provides a summary and
appraisal of the evidence for the effect of
exercise on mental health and addresses key
issues that face the use of exercise as a
medium for health promotion.
ABSTRACT
4International Journal of Mental Health Promotion VOLUME 2 ISSUE 1 • FEBRUARY 2000 © Pavilion Publishing (Brighton) Limited.
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