THE EFFECTS OF EXERCISE ON MOOD IN THE ELDERLY: A META-ANALYSIS

S.M. Arent and D.M. Landers, FACSM

While the physical benefits of exercise in an aged population appear to be well established, the psychological benefits appear to have a less cohesive foundation--especially when the impact of exercise on mood is the central issue. Previous meta-analyses that have examined the effects of exercise on particular mood constructs (i.e., anxiety and depression) have typically overlooked the effects seen in the elderly.  The purpose of this meta-analysis was to examine the exercise and mood relationship found specifically in the elderly.  Studies were included if they examined the effect of exercise on some form of positive (PA) or negative affect (NA) in an elderly sample.  Thirty-two studies with sufficient information to calculate effect sizes were identified.  Effect sizes (ES) were grouped into true ES (comparison of an exercise and control group), gains ES (changes from pre- to post-training), and correlational ES.  Each study was coded for variables related to study information, design, subject, exercise, and dependent measure characteristics which could potentially moderate the effect of exercise on mood.  True mean ESs of -0.31 for NA and 0.26 for PA were found.  The gains mean ESs for NA and PA in an exrcise group were found to be -0.48 and 0.49, respectively.  These were significantly greater gains than those found for the control groups (ESs = -0.05 and 0.08).  Correlational ESs of -0.52 and 0.57 were found for NA and PA, respectively.  It was concluded that exercise improves mood in the elderly.  Moderating variables and implications for the prescription of exercise to improve mood in the elderly are discussed.