Benefits of outdoor exercise confirmed 

Keeping up your exercise routine in cold weather has extra benefits. First, outdoor exercise is a great way to cure the "winter blues." Second, exercise increases your energy levels, which tend to be lower during bouts of cold or gloomy weather. Finally, exercise boosts your immune system, so you may find that you get fewer winter colds. Read more here and then come join us this winter for GetFit BootCamp.  www.teamradosta.com

 Benefits of Outdoor Exercise Confirmed

ScienceDaily (Feb. 5, 2011) — A systematic review carried out by a team at the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry has analyzed existing studies and concluded that there are benefits to mental and physical well-being from taking exercise in the natural environment. Their findings are published in the research journal Environmental Science and Technology on February 4th 2011.

The research team, supported by the NIHR Peninsula Collaboration in Leadership for Applied Health Research and Care (PenCLAHRC, part of the NIHR family of health and research initiatives) in collaboration with the European Centre for the Environment and Human Health (ECEHH), analysed data from a number of sources including 11 randomized and non-randomized control trials incorporating information from 833 adults.
Eligible trials were those that compared the effects of outdoor exercise initiatives with those conducted indoors and which reported at least one physical or mental well-being outcome in adults or children.
The study found that most trials showed an improvement in mental well-being: compared with exercising indoors, exercising in natural environments was associated with greater feelings of revitalization, increased energy and positive engagement, together with decreases in tension, confusion, anger and depression. Participants also reported greater enjoyment and satisfaction with outdoor activity and stated that they were more likely to repeat the activity at a later date.

However, none of the identified studies measured the effects of physical activity on physical well-being, or the effect of natural environments on sticking to exercise.

On balance this review has identified some promising effects on self-reported mental well-being immediately following exercise in the natural environment, as opposed to those reported following exercise indoors. This is a first step towards vindicating the positive effects of programs such as the Green Gym and Blue Gym, and innovative interventions by medical practitioners that include exercise outdoors as part of holistic treatments for those suffering from depression and similar psychological ailments.

Dr. Jo Thompson-Coon, PenCLAHRC Research Fellow, commented: ... "we have added strength to the link between mental and physical well-being and outdoor exercise, but further research and longer, tailor-made and focused trials are needed to better understand this link."

The senior author of the study, Professor Michael Depledge, Chair of Environment and Human Health at the ECEHH, added: ..."Our research, which brings together data from a wide variety of sources, adds significant weight to the case for spending more time in the natural environment as members of the public and their clinicians fight to counteract the negative outcomes of modern living, such as obesity and depression."