Exercise and HIV

1. Exercise and HIV By Tilly and Sophie

2. Background Research Due to the terminal nature of HIV, it can cause a great deal of anguish in many patients. It can have a negative affect on their mood and sense of well being. This is relieved to reduce the effectiveness of the immune system. An intervention that may improve a HIV patient sense of well being and mood would be welcomed because it may counter the suppression of the immune system. Exercise has been shown to improve mood states and regular exercise may be a way to influence the overall sense of well being of HIV patients.

3. Supporting Evidence Lox et al -Exercise and psychological well being in HIV patients. 1995

4. Aim • To see if a twelve-week exercise program would positively change the subjective well-being of HIV patients.

5. Participants • 33 HIV-1 patients w • randomly allocated to an aerobic exercise group, a weight-training group or a stretch/flexibility control group.

6. Procedure- 1995 • The researchers measured pre- and post-program levels of physical self-efficacy, positive and negative mood, and life satisfaction levels. • Mood states and life satisfaction levels were also both measured by established questionnaires. • A demographic questionnaire was used to control for variables such as involvement in counselling/support groups, current relationships and time since notification of infection. • Progress on the exercise program was logged daily on a workout sheet. • Participants engaged in the three conditions for about 45 minutes, three times a week. The stretch/flexibility group were asked to avoid any other forms of exercise activity for the twelve-week period of the study.

7. Results • Participants in the aerobic and resistance conditions reported significantly higher levels of physical self-efficacy, positive mood and life satisfaction than the control group. • Physical self-efficacy levels, positive mood and life satisfaction increased for aerobic and resistance groups between pre- and post-program measures. • The stretch/flexibility group which reported a decline in all three measures. • Additional finding indicated that the aerobic condition group reported higher levels of life satisfaction than their counterparts in the resistance training condition. • The time since notification of infection modified some of the effects of the training program. Those who had been diagnosed with infection within the last 48 months reported a minor decline in life satisfaction compared to those who had known about their infection for longer than four years.

8. Evaluation • Reliable- it uses established questionnaires, so it can be easily replicated. It has internal reliability because its standardised across all 3 conditions. • Small sample size -33 patients, individual differences of patients will affect results. • Uses questionnaires- possibility for demand characteristics. • Lab experiment, control of extraneous variables such as counselling and support and relationships. • Can’t generalise to all sports because the stretch/flexibility group reported a decline in all three measures whereas the other conditions showed improvement. (for example gymnastics may have a negative impact) • High ecological validity • Deterministic- because its saying exercise will have an affect. • Ignores individual differences. • Good application- help to create programmes for people suffering with HIV. Could save money to NHS. • Variables are subjective

9. Further Research • http://www.health24.com/Medical/HIV-AIDS/HIV-and/HIV-and-exercise-20120721