The effect of regular aerobic exercise on positive-activated affect: A meta-analysis

doi:10.1016/j.psychsport.2009.05.009

Psychology of Sport and Exercise

Volume 10, Issue 6, November 2009, Pages 581-594

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2009.05.009 Get rights and content

Abstract

Objective

The purpose of this meta-analysis was to examine the effect of regular aerobic exercise on self-reported positive-activated affect (PAA). Samples from 105 studies (1980–2008) were included yielding 370 effect sizes (ESs) and 9840 participants.

Method

Studies were coded for the following moderators: baseline affect, exercise frequency, intensity, time, program duration, exercise dose, study quality, and study source. The analysis employed multiple measures of affect and corrected for statistical artifacts using the meta-analytical methods of Hunter and Schmidt, 1990, Hunter and Schmidt, 2004.

Results

The overall mean corrected $ES ({\bar{d}}_{corr})$ and standard deviation (SD_corr) were .57 and .48, respectively. Two clear moderator effects were found: the inverse association between baseline PAA and ES and the positive association between study quality and ES. The effect also varied with exercise frequency (positive relation) and exercise intensity (negative relation). Exercise dose was only a weak moderator, but the results indicate the following aerobic exercise program as optimal for improving PAA: low intensity (∼30% VO₂R), 30–35 min, 3–5 days/wk for 10–12 weeks. Similar effects were found for published and unpublished studies (source). Control conditions produced little change in $PAA ({\bar{d}}_{corr} = .03, {SD}_{corr} = .11)$ .

Conclusion

Regular aerobic exercise results in moderate increases in self-reported PAA, but the effects vary by baseline affect and study quality. Exercise-related variables produced weaker moderating effects. PAA was unchanged for control conditions. A more comprehensive understanding of exercise-related affect will emerge when researchers examine the interaction of acute and chronic responses.

Section snippets

Potential moderators

Moderators were selected from the results and theoretical implications of descriptive studies, experimental studies, and quantitative and narrative reviews of the acute and chronic exercise-affect literature.

Description of the database

Searches were performed for studies on aerobic exercise and mood or affect to include activities such as walking, jogging, running, swimming, and cycling. Relevant studies from January 1980 to December 2008 were identified using computer databases (Dissertation Abstracts International, ERIC, Medline, PsychINFO, Pub Med, SPORTDiscus, and World Cat), searches of narrative and quantitative reviews, and books (e.g., Seraganian, 1993). Reference lists from published articles, theses, and colleagues

Analysis

We used a random effects model (Hunter and Schmidt, 1990, Hunter and Schmidt, 2004) and SAS software (Version 9.1.3) to analyze the data. Random effects models are preferred to fixed-effects because varying population effects appear to be the rule rather than the exception for most real-world data (Field, 2003). The SD of population ESs (SD_corr) is an important statistic in random effects models (Hunter & Schmidt, 1990, p. 453). However, outliers inflate the ES variance above that predicted by

Overall meta-analyses

Pre-study exercise vs. control group differences were negligible, ${\bar{d}}_{corr} = - .02 ({SD}_{corr} = .20)$ . The pre–post-control analysis showed little change, ${\bar{d}}_{corr} = .03 ({SD}_{corr} = .11)$ and since %Var_e ∼ 90%, the remaining variance is likely due to additional uncorrected artifacts (Hunter & Schmidt, 2004), leaving the control group effect hovering around zero. Pre–post-exercise changes were moderate and positive ${\bar{d}}_{corr} = .57 ({SD}_{corr} = .48)$ , but SD_corr and 90% CrI suggest the presence of moderators. The post-study

Discussion

The overall results indicate a) pre-study samples report similar PAA, b) control conditions leave PAA unchanged, c) aerobic exercise programs increase PAA, and d) post-study exercise vs. post-study control differences are similar to pre–post-exercise effects. The findings provide support for the favorable effect of regular aerobic exercise on PAA and are comparable to those found in meta-analyses for acute exercise (Reed & Ones, 2006).

Summary

The results show that aerobic exercise programs produce favorable increases in PAA. The effect, however, is moderated by pre-program affective state and the degree of internal validity of the study design. Although exercise dose was a weak moderator, the results indicate that an optimal combination of exercise characteristics for enhancing PAA includes low intensity for 30–35 min, 3–5 days/wk for 10–12 weeks. We continue the call for theory-driven research with one goal being the introduction

Acknowledgements

We thank Patrick O'Connor and colleagues for providing references used in this meta-analysis.

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Citation Excerpt :
Nonetheless, that positive affect plays a role in the relationship between and exercise and mental health, including anxiety, is in line with previous research (Asmundson et al., 2013; Puterman et al., 2017; Reed & Buck, 2009; Reed & Ones, 2006). Many studies have demonstrated that exercising can lead to an increase in positive affect (Reed & Buck, 2009; Reed & Ones, 2006). This is found more consistently than a decrease in negative affect (Mata et al., 2012; McIntyre et al., 1990; Wichers et al., 2012).
Although several studies have shown that one acute bout of physical exercise can reduce state anxiety in healthy samples, studies that examine this effect in subclinical and clinical samples are still rare and have found mixed results. In the present study, we investigated the effect of a single session of acute exercise on state anxiety in a subclinical sample with moderate to high anxiety sensitivity. Potential mediators, including self-efficacy, self-esteem, mindfulness, subjective vitality, rumination and emotional competencies were explored. Participants (N = 88) with moderate to high anxiety sensitivity were assigned randomly to either an active group (n = 44) or a control group (n = 44). State anxiety and the mediator variables were assessed before and after the intervention. State anxiety was reduced from baseline to post-intervention, but no difference was found between groups. Exploratory analyses suggested that in the active intervention condition, a reduction in state anxiety was partly mediated by an increase in positive affect and mediated by an increase in subjective vitality. One acute bout of exercise might not be enough to decrease state anxiety in subclinical individuals with moderate to high anxiety sensitivity. However, the results of this study suggest that positive affect and subjective vitality could be two mechanisms that might explain the beneficial effect of exercise on anxiety. This should be further investigated in future studies.

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¹: References marked with an asterisk indicate studies included in the meta-analysis.

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ReviewThe effect of regular aerobic exercise on positive-activated affect: A meta-analysis

Abstract

Objective

Method

Results

Conclusion

Section snippets

Potential moderators

Description of the database

Analysis

Overall meta-analyses

Discussion

Summary

Acknowledgements

The American Journal of the Medical Sciences

Journal of Psychosomatic Research

Preventive Medicine

Social Science & Medicine

Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Personality and Individual Differences

Journal of Psychosomatic Research

Zur Konzeptualisierung und Messung von Befindlichkeit. Die Entwicklung der Befindlichkeitsskalen (BFS)

Diagnostica

Affect and perceived exertion during a two-hour run

International Journal of Sport Psychology

The effect of running on mood and perceived health

Journal of Sport Behavior

Relation of rated fatigue and changes in energy after exercise and over 14 weeks in previously sedentary women exercisers

Perceptual and Motor Skills

Relationship between changes in acute exercise-induced feeling states, self-motivation, and adults' adherence to moderate aerobic exercise

Perceptual and Motor Skills

Effects of virtual reality-enhanced exercise equipment on adherence and exercise-induced feeling states

Perceptual and Motor Skills

Effect of aerobic and strength training on pain tolerance, pain appraisal, and mood of unfit males as a function of pain location

Journal of Sports Sciences

The effects of exercise on mood in older adults: a meta-analytic review

Journal of Aging and Physical Activity

Physical activity in first-degree relatives of breast cancer patients

Journal of Behavioral Medicine

Publication bias in psychotherapy meta-analyses

Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering

Exercise and mood: a selective review and synthesis of research employing the Profile of Mood States

Journal of Applied Sport Psychology

Temporal dynamics and dimensional specificity of the affective response to exercise of varying intensity: differing pathways to a common outcome

Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology

Self-efficacy and mood in cardiac rehabilitation: should gender be considered?

Behavioral Medicine

Does equating total volume of work between two different exercise conditions matter when examining exercise-induced feeling states?

Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport

The effects of exercise training on psychosocial functioning after myocardial infarction

Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation

Psychological changes accompany aerobic exercise in healthy middle-aged adults

Psychosomatic Medicine

The structure of psychological well-being

Chronic psychological effects of exercise and exercise plus cognitive strategies

Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise

The effects of a multi-modal intervention trial of light, exercise, and vitamins on women's mood

Women and Health

Effects of exercise on physiological and psychological variables in cancer survivors

Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise

The assessment of emotional reactivity: a scale development and validation study

Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment

A pilot study on the effect of involvement in physical education class on the affective states of at-risk middle school students

Illinois Schools Journal

Cody's data cleaning techniques using SAS software

Statistical power analysis for the behavior sciences

The cost of dichotomization

Applied Psychological Measurement

Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences

Emotional style and susceptibility to the common cold

Psychosomatic Medicine

Meta-analysis for explanation: A casebook

The effect of exercise on clinical depression and depression resulting from mental illness: a meta-analysis

Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology

Testing causality in the association between regular exercise and symptoms of anxiety and depression

Archives of General Psychiatry

Neurobiology of the structure of personality: dopamine, facilitation of incentive motivation and extraversion

Behavioral and Brain Sciences

Effects of physical activity on the fatigue and psychologic status of cancer patients during chemotherapy

Cancer

Review
The effect of regular aerobic exercise on positive-activated affect: A meta-analysis