A study to determine the effect of exercise on depression in middle-aged women.

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of aerobic exercise on emotional depression in middle-aged women. In order to test the null hypothesis that aerobic exercise had no significant effect on middle-aged women, data were collected at the beginning, mid-session, and at the completion of the six-week experimental aerobic exercise program. The Multiple Affect Adjective Check List (MAACL), by Zuckerman and Lubin, was used to collect the data for this investigation. Further information was obtained from: (1) Life-Style Questionnaire, (2) Shape-Up Chart, and (3) Food List Chart, each of which was developed by the investigator.

Fifty middle-aged females enrolled in organized aerobic exercise classes served as the experimental group, while the control group consisted of twenty middle-aged women not involved in an exercise program.

A one-way analysis of variance was used to determine if there was a significant difference at the > .05 level between the two groups on the MAACL. The information from the Life-Style Questionnaire, Shape-Up Chart, and Food List Chart is given descriptively in percentages.

An F-ratio of 4.00 was required in order to have significance at the > .05 level of significance. The obtained F-ratio of 49.69('xxx) was well above the level required for significance. As a result of the analysis of the data, one concludes that an aerobic exercise program can be an effective method of alleviating depression in middle-aged women.