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When physical fitness meets mental illness

« H E » email
posted Tuesday, 27 December 2005

When physical fitness meets mental illness

Matthew Hass is not sure what caused him to blow up to 300 pounds: his sedentary lifestyle, a diet devoid of fruits and vegetables or the medications he took for bipolar disorder. Not that the cause mattered. Hass knew he was at a crossroads: At 27, he said he felt like a "heart attack waiting to happen," so he decided to give exercise a chance. "I was ready to try something else that would help my moods," he said, "and maybe help me lose some weight, too."

Hass, now 28, began working out with a personal trainer once a week, thanks to a program in Keene, N.H., called In Shape that pairs people with severe mental illnesses with mentors to guide them through a fitness regimen. For almost a year and a half, he also did circuit training and played tennis with his mentor. Since he signed up for In Shape, not only has he lost 30 pounds, but he said his moods are steadier.

His experience illustrates why mental health experts increasingly recommend exercise for people with severe mental illness. It helps them stay physically healthy, which is crucial in a population that the surgeon general estimated in 1999 loses on average 15.4 years' life expectancy. And research suggests that by improving mood, exercise can be a beneficial accompaniment to other kinds of treatment for mental illness. While exercise is unlikely ever to replace medication and psychotherapy, experts say, it can increase the likelihood that those traditional strategies will be effective.

Scientists have long known that exercise lifts the spirits of people without mental illness, and hundreds of studies have shown how it can improve the psychological health of those who suffer moderate depression, whether or not they take medication or engage in talk therapy.


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