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How does a study like this control for the fact that if you are depressed, you might not want to exercise that day? And thus it’s mental health that drives how

How does a study like this control for the fact that if you are depressed, you might not want to exercise that day? And thus it’s mental health that drives how much you exercise, not the other way around?

jimrandomh 8y ago
It doesn't.
Retric 8y ago
Mental health goes beyond depression. So, one option is to ignore depression and look at other things.
- markroseman 8y ago
  Good point. The value in this one is the large size of the data set, but mental illness is hardly a uniform phenomenon, so if you fit the "mental illness" category it doesn't say much about how many people in their data set really overlap with you. And it can make a difference. High intensity exercise still can help many people with depression, but is often counterproductive for anxiety, where low-moderate intensity can be helpful.
Kyrztyn 8y ago
If these studies were not behind paywalls people might better understand what they mean. They did not establish causality in the study and they also said that inactivity might be a symptom of poor mental health. The people who had less mental health days might not be physically ill, but rather, socially ill. If you read the full study and some of the interesting demographics you will see what I mean. It really tells us nothing but puts more stigma on people who are ill making it seem like it is their fault they are sick.
jpmoyn 8y ago
The study itself addresses that they didn't prove causality between exercise and reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression
- posterboy 8y ago
  They are not very careful to avoid implying the expected outcome, though, which should be understandable as it refers to common wisdom. e.g. "more is not always better" is part of the interpretation, nevertheless they don't imply any causative effects (on the landing page, at least; didn't read the paper). In that sense, if feeling too depressed for extreme sport, maybe a walk ever now and then should at least not be neglected.

jimrandomh 8y ago

It doesn't.

Retric 8y ago

Mental health goes beyond depression. So, one option is to ignore depression and look at other things.

markroseman 8y ago
Good point. The value in this one is the large size of the data set, but mental illness is hardly a uniform phenomenon, so if you fit the "mental illness" category it doesn't say much about how many people in their data set really overlap with you. And it can make a difference. High intensity exercise still can help many people with depression, but is often counterproductive for anxiety, where low-moderate intensity can be helpful.

Kyrztyn 8y ago

If these studies were not behind paywalls people might better understand what they mean. They did not establish causality in the study and they also said that inactivity might be a symptom of poor mental health. The people who had less mental health days might not be physically ill, but rather, socially ill. If you read the full study and some of the interesting demographics you will see what I mean. It really tells us nothing but puts more stigma on people who are ill making it seem like it is their fault they are sick.

jpmoyn 8y ago

The study itself addresses that they didn't prove causality between exercise and reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression

posterboy 8y ago
They are not very careful to avoid implying the expected outcome, though, which should be understandable as it refers to common wisdom. e.g. "more is not always better" is part of the interpretation, nevertheless they don't imply any causative effects (on the landing page, at least; didn't read the paper). In that sense, if feeling too depressed for extreme sport, maybe a walk ever now and then should at least not be neglected.