- Email: [email protected]
Routledge Handbook of Physical Activity and Mental Health
Mental Health and Physical Activity 6 (2013) 101–102
Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect
Mental Health and Physical Activity journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/menpa
Book review Routledge Handbook of Physical Activity and Mental Health, P. Ekkekakis (Ed.), 1st ed. Routledge, London & New York (2013). 576 pp., ISBN: 978-1-4051-9785-4 At least 15 books have been published on the effects of exercise and physical activity on mental health and psychological well-being but this is the first comprehensive text to cover the range of evidence and research across a broad range on mental health dimensions in this rapidly growing field. In a mammoth task the Editor-in-Chief, Paddy Ekkekakis, has managed to pull together a group of Sub-Editors for the following sections, each with 3–5 chapters written by leading authors in the respective field: physical activity and the ’feel good’ effect (Sub-ed. Paddy Ekkekakis: with 4 chapters) anxiety disorders (Sub-ed. Jasper Smits: with 3 chapters) depression and mood disorders (Sub-ed. Lynette Craft: with 3 chapters) self-perceptions and self-evaluations (Sub-ed. Kathleen Martin Ginis: with 5 chapters) cognitive function across the lifespan (Sub-ed. Jennifer Etnier: with 4 chapters) psychosocial stress (Sub-ed. Mark Hamer: with 4 chapters) pain (Sub-ed. Dane Cook: with 4 chapters) energy and fatigue (Sub-ed. Justy Reed: with 3 chapters) addictions (Sub-ed. Michael Ussher: with 3 chapters) quality of life in special populations (Sub-ed. Nicole CulosReed: with 5 chapters) The content provides a comprehensive synthesis of this interdisciplinary field from neuroscience to public health. The qualitative reviews in each chapter identify the current state of play through reference to the latest systematic reviews and key studies. In each section, the focus is on a critical appraisal of the strength of evidence for a causal effect, followed by chapters on the evidence for neurobiological or psychosocial mechanisms. Chapters on the evidence base cover research across the lifespan from children to older adults. Mechanistic chapters cover both animal and human evidence in excellent depth. The chapters in the ‘Addictions’ section include ones on smoking cessation, alcohol and drug use disorders, and the neurobiology of exercise and drug seeking behaviour. The chapters in the ‘Quality of life in special populations’ section include ones with older adults, cancer survivors, and with cardiovascular and pulmonary disease, multiple sclerosis and schizophrenia. In an opening chapter ‘Physical Activity as a Mental Health Intervention in the Era of Managed Care’, Paddy Ekkekakis attempts to highlight the question of translation which is also discussed in the Editorial (Taylor & Faulkner, this issue). Overall, the book 1755-2966/$ – see front matter http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mhpa.2013.06.003
captures the state of play in the field: The biomedical science behind physical activity and mental health is catching up with other therapies in terms of efficacy – is there an effect and what are the mechanisms? That said, the opening chapter by Ekkekakis highlights the limited research on translation and questions emerge such as: How do we motivate patients to engage in physical activity as a therapy for mental health conditions? Do we have appropriate behaviour change theories and strategies to support the adoption and maintenance of physical activity among people who have extra challenges being physically active? How do we integrate support for physical activity into existing therapies and services for mental health patients? What is the costeffectiveness of our physical activity interventions for different mental health conditions? With so little of the book focussing on these questions of translation and implementation science, it is a shame that the final five pages of this opening chapter focus on critiquing one of the largest effectiveness studies in the world: TREAD-UK (Chalder et al., 2012; Haase, Taylor, Fox, Thorp, & Lewis, 2010). That said, the critique raises many important issues that are also addressed in the Editorial in this issue (Taylor & Faulkner, this issue). Starting this discussion can only be beneficial for the field overall. Finally, there is a sense from the book that the field is heavily wrapped up in biomedical science. MENPA has attempted to encourage manuscripts from a broader field of literature than that largely covered in the book (e.g., see book review by Gorczynski (2010) on Carless & Douglas, Sport & Physical Activity for Mental Health). Some of the issues about translation and implementation of physical activity interventions for patients with mental health conditions require us to explore the perceptions of what patients think about the broad range of physical activity therapies and options, and how they are delivered and supported. Also, what do practitioners think about physical activity as a therapy and the required skills and training needed by practitioners to support their patients? These questions will be answered by social scientists and health service researchers rather than biomedical scientists. In summary, congratulations to everyone involved in developing this excellent and essential text for students and academics at all levels. Many chapters on mechanisms are not intended for practitioners without a solid biomedical background, and there are no chapter summaries on ‘what we know’ and ‘what we need to know’ that would make the content more accessible (see MENPA editorial by Taylor & Faulkner, 2008). However, as Ekkekakis points out in the opening chapter, not everything is black and white. At a price of £125 for hardback versions the book is particularly likely to be a must have for libraries serving a range of fields, including clinical and health psychology, psychiatry, neuroscience, behavioural and preventive medicine, gerontology, nursing, public health, primary care and sport and exercise science.
102
Book review / Mental Health and Physical Activity 6 (2013) 101–102
References Chalder, M., Wiles, N. J., Campbell, J., Hollinghurst, S. P., Haase, A. M., Taylor, A. H., et al. (Jun 6 2012). Facilitated physical activity as a treatment for depressed adults: randomised controlled trialBritish Medical Journal, 344, e2758. Gorczynski, P. (2010). ‘Sport and physical activity for Mental Health’ D. Carless & K. DouglasMental Health & Physical Activity, 3, 102–103. Haase, A. M., Taylor, A. H., Fox, K. R., Thorp, H., & Lewis, G. (2010). Rationale and development of the physical activity counselling intervention for a pragmatic
TRial of Exercise and Depression in the UK (TREAD-UK)Mental Health & Physical Activity, 3, 85–91. Taylor, A. H., & Faulkner, G. (2008). Inaugural editorialMental Health & Physical Activity, 1, 1–8.
Adrian H. Taylor, Co-Editor-in-Chief, MENPA University of Exeter, UK E-mail address: [email protected]
Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect
Mental Health and Physical Activity journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/menpa
Book review Routledge Handbook of Physical Activity and Mental Health, P. Ekkekakis (Ed.), 1st ed. Routledge, London & New York (2013). 576 pp., ISBN: 978-1-4051-9785-4 At least 15 books have been published on the effects of exercise and physical activity on mental health and psychological well-being but this is the first comprehensive text to cover the range of evidence and research across a broad range on mental health dimensions in this rapidly growing field. In a mammoth task the Editor-in-Chief, Paddy Ekkekakis, has managed to pull together a group of Sub-Editors for the following sections, each with 3–5 chapters written by leading authors in the respective field: physical activity and the ’feel good’ effect (Sub-ed. Paddy Ekkekakis: with 4 chapters) anxiety disorders (Sub-ed. Jasper Smits: with 3 chapters) depression and mood disorders (Sub-ed. Lynette Craft: with 3 chapters) self-perceptions and self-evaluations (Sub-ed. Kathleen Martin Ginis: with 5 chapters) cognitive function across the lifespan (Sub-ed. Jennifer Etnier: with 4 chapters) psychosocial stress (Sub-ed. Mark Hamer: with 4 chapters) pain (Sub-ed. Dane Cook: with 4 chapters) energy and fatigue (Sub-ed. Justy Reed: with 3 chapters) addictions (Sub-ed. Michael Ussher: with 3 chapters) quality of life in special populations (Sub-ed. Nicole CulosReed: with 5 chapters) The content provides a comprehensive synthesis of this interdisciplinary field from neuroscience to public health. The qualitative reviews in each chapter identify the current state of play through reference to the latest systematic reviews and key studies. In each section, the focus is on a critical appraisal of the strength of evidence for a causal effect, followed by chapters on the evidence for neurobiological or psychosocial mechanisms. Chapters on the evidence base cover research across the lifespan from children to older adults. Mechanistic chapters cover both animal and human evidence in excellent depth. The chapters in the ‘Addictions’ section include ones on smoking cessation, alcohol and drug use disorders, and the neurobiology of exercise and drug seeking behaviour. The chapters in the ‘Quality of life in special populations’ section include ones with older adults, cancer survivors, and with cardiovascular and pulmonary disease, multiple sclerosis and schizophrenia. In an opening chapter ‘Physical Activity as a Mental Health Intervention in the Era of Managed Care’, Paddy Ekkekakis attempts to highlight the question of translation which is also discussed in the Editorial (Taylor & Faulkner, this issue). Overall, the book 1755-2966/$ – see front matter http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mhpa.2013.06.003
captures the state of play in the field: The biomedical science behind physical activity and mental health is catching up with other therapies in terms of efficacy – is there an effect and what are the mechanisms? That said, the opening chapter by Ekkekakis highlights the limited research on translation and questions emerge such as: How do we motivate patients to engage in physical activity as a therapy for mental health conditions? Do we have appropriate behaviour change theories and strategies to support the adoption and maintenance of physical activity among people who have extra challenges being physically active? How do we integrate support for physical activity into existing therapies and services for mental health patients? What is the costeffectiveness of our physical activity interventions for different mental health conditions? With so little of the book focussing on these questions of translation and implementation science, it is a shame that the final five pages of this opening chapter focus on critiquing one of the largest effectiveness studies in the world: TREAD-UK (Chalder et al., 2012; Haase, Taylor, Fox, Thorp, & Lewis, 2010). That said, the critique raises many important issues that are also addressed in the Editorial in this issue (Taylor & Faulkner, this issue). Starting this discussion can only be beneficial for the field overall. Finally, there is a sense from the book that the field is heavily wrapped up in biomedical science. MENPA has attempted to encourage manuscripts from a broader field of literature than that largely covered in the book (e.g., see book review by Gorczynski (2010) on Carless & Douglas, Sport & Physical Activity for Mental Health). Some of the issues about translation and implementation of physical activity interventions for patients with mental health conditions require us to explore the perceptions of what patients think about the broad range of physical activity therapies and options, and how they are delivered and supported. Also, what do practitioners think about physical activity as a therapy and the required skills and training needed by practitioners to support their patients? These questions will be answered by social scientists and health service researchers rather than biomedical scientists. In summary, congratulations to everyone involved in developing this excellent and essential text for students and academics at all levels. Many chapters on mechanisms are not intended for practitioners without a solid biomedical background, and there are no chapter summaries on ‘what we know’ and ‘what we need to know’ that would make the content more accessible (see MENPA editorial by Taylor & Faulkner, 2008). However, as Ekkekakis points out in the opening chapter, not everything is black and white. At a price of £125 for hardback versions the book is particularly likely to be a must have for libraries serving a range of fields, including clinical and health psychology, psychiatry, neuroscience, behavioural and preventive medicine, gerontology, nursing, public health, primary care and sport and exercise science.
102
Book review / Mental Health and Physical Activity 6 (2013) 101–102
References Chalder, M., Wiles, N. J., Campbell, J., Hollinghurst, S. P., Haase, A. M., Taylor, A. H., et al. (Jun 6 2012). Facilitated physical activity as a treatment for depressed adults: randomised controlled trialBritish Medical Journal, 344, e2758. Gorczynski, P. (2010). ‘Sport and physical activity for Mental Health’ D. Carless & K. DouglasMental Health & Physical Activity, 3, 102–103. Haase, A. M., Taylor, A. H., Fox, K. R., Thorp, H., & Lewis, G. (2010). Rationale and development of the physical activity counselling intervention for a pragmatic
TRial of Exercise and Depression in the UK (TREAD-UK)Mental Health & Physical Activity, 3, 85–91. Taylor, A. H., & Faulkner, G. (2008). Inaugural editorialMental Health & Physical Activity, 1, 1–8.
Adrian H. Taylor, Co-Editor-in-Chief, MENPA University of Exeter, UK E-mail address: [email protected]