The Curse of Inactivity

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Abstract
This laboratory experiment used random digit dialing procedures to recruit a community sample of physically inactive participants into a study that was designed to examine the impact of different intensities of acute aerobic exercise on feeling states. Sedentary men (n 5 36) and women (n 5 36) were randomly assigned to experience a single bout of aerobic exercise at one of three intensities (30%, 50%, 70% of HRR). Each participant attended two counterbalanced laboratory sessions, one involving an attention-control manipulation and the other involving aerobic exercise. Before and after each session, they completed a feeling state questionnaire. Data suggested that there were neither widespread mood-enhancing effects of acute exercise nor evidence for a strong dose-response relationship.