Hi class,

See this meta-analysis that examined the link between exercise and depression. How does exercise rank as a treatment? How might you discuss these findings with a patient?

http://faculty.cas.usf.edu/mbrannick/meta/CMA/Kvam2016ExerciseDepressionMeta.pdfLinks to an external site.

Kvam, S., Kleppe, C.L., Nordhus, I.H., & Hovland, A. (2016). Exercise as a treatment for depression: A meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders, 202, 67-86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2016.03.063

Amans repond to the main post

I will admit, I have always had these moments of wanting to exercise and then getting into the groove of it and then stopping. Like an endless roller coaster, because sometimes life just gets in the way. According to Schuch (2018), physical exercise can help against depression or symptoms like depression and after reading the article, I began to reflect on how that looked in my life. Now, I definitely can say that without exercise, I am more sluggish, more tired all the time and due to other factors such as work and stress, I can seem pretty rundown at times as well. I often think that sometimes I should incorporate even just 30 minutes a day to change my lifestyle and see the differences. After reading the article, I have begun slowly but surely incorporating this and although I am usually tired on most days where I work for 10-12 hours, I am getting better at realizing my own physical health and not letting it wear me down so much.

Another article I found on the correlation between physical and regular exercise and protection from depression is an article from Romero-Perez (2020) describes how children can exhibit different symptoms of depression due to not regularly exercising thus in turn adding to their weight and causing obesity. The study indicated that the more children exercise and build it into their daily routine, the less likely they will develop the symptoms of depression which can have a direct correlation to childhood obesity.

            In looking at health psychology from a viewpoint that is not euro centric, I chose to focus on the Latinx population and their views on physical health and stress. There is a growing population of Latin and Latinx immigrants in the United States but their views culturally in terms of health and specifically physical health differ from most Americans. The study conducted by Cariello, Perrin, Williams, Espinoza, Morlett-Paredes, Moreno, & Trujillo (2020) describe the relationship between overall stress on physical health on the body and how that factors into the everyday lives of a Latinx person. To begin, Latinx individuals do not have the proper medical coverage through jobs or security to help go to doctors to help with physical health. Therefore, the lack of healthcare treatment and lack of physical well-being for most Latinx individuals is significantly poor. The study concludes that the overall population of Latinx use home remedies to take care of themselves instead of going to doctors, do not seek their advice and often lack in the care they deserve for their physical health. This component adds stress to these individuals lives and therefore does not help in weight gain or other stressors that manifest into physical symptoms such as becoming ill. In understanding this population we must ensure that we are talking and communicating medially and through research in helping those of Latin descent get proper care and take care of their bodies before it amounts to physical stressors which in turn leads to physical health problems.

References:

Cariello, A. N., Perrin, P. B., Williams, C. D., Espinoza, G. A., Morlett-Paredes, A., Moreno, O. A., & Trujillo, M. A. (2020). Moderating influence of enculturation on the relations between minority stressors and physical health via anxiety in latinx immigrants. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 26(3), 356-366. doi:http://dx.doi.org.tcsedsystem.idm.oclc.org/10.1037/cdp0000308

Romero-Prez, E., Gonzlez-Bernal, J.,J., Soto-Cmara, R., Gonzlez-Santos, J., Tnori-Tapia, J. M., Rodrguez-Fernndez, P., . . . de Paz, J. A. (2020). Influence of a physical exercise program in the anxiety and depression in children with obesity. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(13), 4655. doi:http://dx.doi.org.tcsedsystem.idm.oclc.org/10.3390/ijerph17134655

Schuch, Felipe & Vancampfort, Davy & Firth, Joseph & Rosenbaum, Simon & Ward, Philip & da Silva, Edson & Hallgren, Mats & Ponce, Antonio & De Leon, Antonio & Dunn, Andrea & Deslandes, Andra & Fleck, Marcelo & Carvalho, Andre & Stubbs, Brendon. (2018). Physical Activity and Incident Depression: A Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies. American Journal of Psychiatry. 175. 10.1176/appi.ajp.2018.17111194.