Exam 11: Depression and Exercise

What was the nature of the relationship between self-reported physical activity and better mental health across the four large epidemiological samples surveyed by Stephens (1988)?

Explanations for the depression-reducing effects of exercise include which of the following?

There is clear and abundant evidence that exercise alleviates depression through the release of endorphins and their subsequent pain-killing effects.

In the exercise-clinical depression study by Blumenthal and colleagues (the SMILE study), which of the treatments worked the best in alleviating depression symptoms (as indicated by the depression rating scales used to assess these symptoms) following the 16-week intervention?

Which of the following is true with respect to the psychological benefits of exercise?

If one was to prescribe exercise to an individual suffering from depression, what would the prescription entail (i.e., type, frequency, intensity, duration)?

Recall the work of Farmer and colleagues (1988). In their prospective study of exercise and depression in women, what did they find?

In the exercise-clinical depression study by Blumenthal and colleagues (the SMILE study), which of the treatments had the best success when considering the percentage of individuals who had either recovered or at least partially recovered at a 6-month follow-up period?

Which of the following types of exercise reliably reduce(s) depression?

Reductions in depression are seen in exercise programs lasting how long?

Which of the following individuals was instrumental in the early research examining fitness levels in depressed patients?

A study examining the effectiveness of an aerobic exercise intervention (compared to a waiting list control condition) on depressive symptoms in HIV-infected adults was discussed in the text. What was the main outcome of this work?

Several recent studies examining the effects of exercise on depression have shown that exercise does not alleviate depressive symptoms better than pharmacological (i.e., drug) treatments. As an exercise scientist, how would you use this evidence to convince others that exercise is worth the effort for the depressed individual?

Individuals with major depressive disorder can improve their physical health through exercise training.

Of the numerous hypotheses that have been proposed to explain the depression-reducing effects of exercise, which is based on the idea that humans have a genetic predisposition to be physically active?

-From the figure depicted above, which of the following could be surmised?

The analysis of the large epidemiological data by Goodwin (2003), which showed that as levels of physical activity increased the likelihood of experiencing depressive disorders decreased, reflected a dose-response relationship.

Among mental disorders, depression can be particularly debilitating. Regarding disability and disease burden, which of the following is true?

The fact that reductions in depression are seen when individuals exercised in a laboratory environment by themselves argues against which of the following potential explanations for such an effect?

What is known from the cross-sectional and prospective studies regarding the association between (lack of) activity and depression?