23 replies to this topic

[maineman]

It's been known for a very long time that regular exercise makes you feel better. The really cool study reported in 1999 went a little deeper. In that study they enrolled patients with mild depressive disorder (or MDD), which is a condition of sad mood that can be quantified using several well known standardized questionaires. Basically, people down in the dumps, for a long time, but still able to function on a daily basis. They split the groups up as: One group got standard dose Zoloft (sertraline), a common SSRI similar to Prozac Next group was brought into the gym and exercised, 30 minutes at 70% peak heart rate for age, 3 times a week Next group got both exercise and Zoloft. Control groups included placebo and a group that had to show up once a week and fill out a mood questionairre. At the end of the study period, which was around 4-6 months the Zoloft, exercise and combined group were all EQUALLY better, the placebo and clinic group were not. Since that study came out in 1999 I've been advising patients with MDD to take up an exercise program, and often offer an SSRI, depending on each individual situation. The same researchers decided to re-visit their test subjects around a year later. Here they found that the group who continued to exercise routinely reported doing better than the drug only group. The second study had several huge study errors, which the authors admit. It was self-reported type of study, and not tightly scientifically controlled. THey admit to many possible huge margins of error. So noted, but the details are moot, as we all agree that exercise is good for you and really helps people with the walking blues. Once again, however, the researchers made it very clear that the level of exercise needed to achieve and sustain a clinical response was vigorous.. the same 30 minutes of jogging, minimum 3 times a week. Here in Maine I deal with a LOT of SAD or seasonal affective disorder. It's dark, dreary, cold A LOT. I have many patients who take winter gym memberships AND refill thier SSRI for the winter months only (Zoloft, Prozac, etc. although we prefer Prozac (fluoxitene) because it is so well known and now so insanely cheap. YOu can get 100 day supply for 12 bucks at Wal Mart ) Still, I firmly believe that routine vigorous aerobics is the key. mm

[stocks]

The same researchers decided to re-visit their test subjects around a year later. Here they found that the group who continued to exercise routinely reported doing better than the drug only group.



The second study had several huge study errors, which the authors admit. It was self-reported type of study, and not tightly scientifically controlled. THey admit to many possible huge margins of error. So noted, but the details are moot, as we all agree that exercise is good for you and really helps people with the walking blues.


Once again, however, the researchers made it very clear that the level of exercise needed to achieve and sustain a clinical response was vigorous.. the same 30 minutes of jogging, minimum 3 times a week.


Still, I firmly believe that routine vigorous aerobics is the key.


mm

More good news.

3/2005
And now for the most stunning of all results yet published. As noted above, the data showing that exercise can actually treat depression has been pretty good for a long while. But we now know that depression can cause brain shrinkage, and that effective treatments can stop and at least partially reverse that shrinkage (for the full version of this important story, see the Brain Chemistry of Mood Disorders essay; the data on brain shrinkage and the benefits of treatment are in Part II of that story). So now we can assess just how good a treatment for depression exercise really is: can it reverse brain shrinkage too?

Sure enough, this has been shown to occur, only in one small study so far, but getting these results by accident is not very likely. The study uses just the kind of rigorous design that makes this likely to be a "real" finding. Comparing older folks (average age of 67) who were physically active versus those who were less active, a research team from the University of Illinois found that the active elders had better mental skills and memory, and even that their brains were more active as well.Colcombe But then they did the crucial follow-up test: they divided a group of elders into two groups, one which participated in an aerobic exercise program, and one which did not. In research which has been presented but not yet published, they have found that the group which exercised increased their brain size compared to the sedentary control group, in the brain regions known to shrink when people have mood problems. Extrapolating just slighly from these results, we now have preliminary evidence that exercise, like other effective antidepressants, can reverse brain shrinkage. Why, you might wonder, would anyone take a medication to treat depression, when exercise, with all its other health benefits, can work as well--even at the level of helping the brain re-grow?




http://www.pubmedcen...bmedid=14978288

http://www.psycheduc...in/exercise.htm

[EntropyModel]

I feel world peace is just around the corner...now that we all finally agree on something


I would be failing in my sworn duty to maintain the male stereotype if I didn't mention another benefit of exercise ..a better sex life, from improved attraction to opposite sex and sex drive/function...some studies linked below...

http://walking.about...exersex2005.htm


I must to say though, that overtraining i.e. too much exercise is just as bad as none, and leads to loss of all these benefits and adds a bunch of diseases and likely early death, and it appears 'sudden death' is a risk as well.

I drastically overtrained in my late teens...training 1hour weights every day, 1hour cycle most days and 6mile run every day at very high intensity...as in heart rate 80% Max .....leading to many problems....constant sickness, and eventually autoimmune problems....food intolerance and 'allegies' by the dozen and virutally living in a bubble, unable to run or exercise due to total exhaustion. My heart would jump above 160 if I even jogged, and would get sick straight away. I had every blood test known to man, nothing showed up, and thus no doctor could help me at all and claimed it wasn't real because it didn't show up in tests...needless to say I lost faith in medical professional. Eventually of course, famous athlete's started getting overtraining syndrome, but we still don't know much about it...except its caused by excessive exercise beyond the bodies RECOVERY system - infact, exercise damages the body, its only the recovery that improves things.


What I know know about body/fitness/nutrition is due to that nightmare, and learning how to heal myself over about 10year, when there was very little knowledge available (late 1980's).....trail and error. There's alot known about overtraining now, but I still see alot of overtraining...tons of it infact...but you can't tell people when they're young...I didn't listen to my mother either who would tell me 'Mark, your doing to much'...simple advice is so hard to follow!


Mark.

Edited by entropy, 29 December 2006 - 01:02 AM.

[OEXCHAOS]

I'm just on Page 1 of this discussion so I apologize if I'm repeating something someone else said.

First, the rise in obesity over the past 10 years has to be related in part to the rise in broadband internet use, as well as cheap high-tech entertainment options. I know that I spend WAY too much time at the 'puter...and that used to be time I spent doing more physical stuff.

Second, entropy said,

3. Put back physical activity for kids daily in school rather than cutting it, 30minute daily to 'reprogram' our kids to the joys of not sitting infront of t.v., computer or zoning out with ipods and instead doing athletics, sports etc.

I have to say, as a former athlete that "Phys Ed." as it was and I think still is, is about as useful as teats on a boar hog. Physical activity isn't a course and generally needs more time than is allowed in a standard school schedule. Further, in that context, it's a dreaded annoyance to kids. It's boring, and if it's not useless, it forces kids to get sweaty, which means that they either stink in class, or that they have to quit sooner than they should in order to shower. The preparation to get back to class brings it's own set of annoyances.

When I was in hs, some time ago, I was a varsity wrestler and tennis player. I had a 28" waist, 16" neck, and biceps to match. I could sprint 1 mile, and run much further. I regularly did pushups in the hundreds. But I was forced to waste time in PE classes that didn't even cause me to quicken my breath, nor fire more than a few thoughts. Most of the kids there should have been learning something, the dullards, not engaging in the onanism of 70's and 80's PE.

Now, I don't know if things are better. They may be, but I doubt it. I'm also not saying that kids don't desperately need more activity. They do. I'm just saying that we don't need to be taking time away from desperately needed EDUCATION to teach fat-bottomed Johnny to move. (In most cases, he's not just fat, he's stupid.)

What I would strongly recommend, if anyone were to ask (and they haven't ), is that the school day be extended by an hour or so, specifically for exercise. Preferably self-selected and useful exercise. Diverse stuff. Yoga, lifting, running, sports. Those who want more can get it, and those who just need a tad of exercise and knowledge of how to get it, can get both. It can also easily be integrated into a sports program.

Two (maybe 3) birds, one stone. More time in useful learning, more, useful, meaningful, not unpleasant exercise, and also a bit less unattended free time for "latchkey" teens/kids.

Mark