A new study performed by researchers from the University of North Texas has found a link between physical fitness and depression in middle-school students. According to the study, which was presented at the American Physiological Association's 122nd Annual Convention, sixth grade males and females who were better at cardiorespiratory fitness tests were less likely to report feelings of depression when questioned again in seventh grade.
The research team recruited a study sample of 437 students, over half of whom were female, from six different middle schools in North Texas. The participants were questioned at grades six and seven about their fitness habits and whether they experienced any possible symptoms of depression. The participants were then weighed and asked to complete a shuttle-based exercise run; the test helped to gauge each individual's speed, agility and coordination.
Speaking about the study findings in a recent press release, researcher Camilo Ruggero of the University of North Texas said the study sought to provide a more in-depth insight into how levels of physical fitness influence an adolescent's mood. With a student's physical activity likely to alter on a weekly basis, Ruggero says taking measurements of each participant's overall fitness provides a clearer picture of their "prolonged physical activity." The researchers rounded off the subjects' shuttle-run performances by calculating the body mass index values for each middle-school student.
Among the female participants, the research group established that 28 percent of sixth-graders and 29 percent of seventh-graders had elevated symptoms of depression. Meanwhile, 22 percent of boys in the seventh grade had symptoms of depression, as did 19 percent of boys in the eighth grade.
The team found that students suffering with symptoms of depression in the sixth grade were more likely to continue experiencing these symptoms in the seventh grade. After controlling for this factor, the researchers reported that a student's physical fitness was a significant predictor of their seventh grade depression levels. Ultimately, sixth-graders who demonstrated poor physical fitness were more likely to suffer symptoms of depression in the seventh grade.
Ruggero explained that depression in adolescence may have a knock-on impact upon a child's future, affecting performance at school and health outcomes later on in life. The authors suggest that cardiorespiratory fitness has a "small, but significant protective effect against developing depression in middle school girls." The effect was less pronounced, however, in middle-school boys.
"Fitness programs are one way to help prevent depression in middle-schoolers, but schools should also use other interventions, such as one-on-one or group therapy, that more directly address symptom treatment among depressed adolescents," concluded Ruggero.
http://issuu.com/hypnoticentrail84/docs/14105812135413c2dd056eb
http://dappertower67927954.pen.io/
Last modified: August 8th, 2014 by James Fenner
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sagarFitnessApp.test1&hl=en
elfincharlatan370 Community Member 
|
|
