DOES PHYSICAL EXERCISE REDUCE ANXIOUS EMOTIONS - A METAANALYSIS

Habitual physical exercise is almost universally accepted as being a protective behavior for physical and mental health. Despite the heterogeneity of research results, reviewers conclude, that mental health benefits of physical activity include reductions in state and trait anxiety. These effects are believed to be independent of age, gender and further personal and situational characteristics. To clarify the inconsistent results a meta-analysis was conducted. Twenty studies published between 1980 and 1990 were found that provided 22 independent effect-sizes based on 1,306 subjects. Using the Schmidt-Hunter-procedure, a population effect-size of r(w) = - .15 resulted. This coefficient is comparatively small and not significantly different from zero. According to various tests the data set has to be considered as heterogeneous. Subsequent meta-analyses aimed at identifying possible moderators such as age, sex, etc. There is evidence for a marginal anxiolytic effect of physical exercise in middle-aged persons (30 to 50 years).