A new study out of Columbia University showed that while those who exercise 2.5-7.5 hours per week have better mental health than average, any more than that tends to result in the reverse.
Researchers found that “about 65 percent of those with poorer mental health exercised more than four hours per week, compared to 55 percent of adults in better mental health.”
Moreover, they were surprised to discover that when 7.5 hours of exercise were exceeded each week, symptoms of depression and anxiety rose significantly.
With Bulima impacting up to 19% of females on university campuses and body dysmorphia in males on the rise, its important to keep those societal expectations about how our bodies should look, in-check.
As students our expectations of ourselves and from others are high. Be cautious to not take on too much all at once, we are only human after-all. If you feel like yourself or anyone you know is suffering mentally because of exercise or weight-loss issues please check out the Counselling, Health and Wellness page page to expose some myths as well as get some resources. Or drop into to the wonderful people in Counselling Services to get some one-on-one or group support with image problems or for anything else that is bugging you.
And don’t let this odd, ominous cloud that’s looming over campus get you down MHAC! We just got to keep on keepin’ on.
Jess
