Past Issues

Objective: Psychiatric symptoms and drug-induced side effects impact patients
with mental disorders. The impact can lead to their inactivity and weight
gain, further increasing risks of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia.
Exercise can reverse the diseases caused by decreased mobility. In this
study, we aimed to examine the effects of exercise on psychiatric symptoms, behaviors,
and physical fi tness of inpatients with schizophrenia. Methods: A posttest
quasi-experimental research design was used. We recruited 29 inpatients with
schizophrenia from a psychiatric hospital and divided them into three groups: aerobic
dance, aerobic kickboxing, and control, respectively. The exercise program
took 50 minutes each time, and three times per week for four weeks. Data were
collected before and after the program. Results: After the four-week experiment,
we found that the mean differences of scores between the posttest and pretest
among the three groups were signifi cantly different on psychiatric symptoms (p <
0.05), muscular endurance (p < 0.05), and fl exibility (p < 0.01). Conclusion: In
this study, we found that the effects of the aerobic exercise programs, especially
aerobic dance, signifi cantly improved psychiatric symptoms and physical fi tness,
but not behavioral change of inpatients with schizophrenia. The aerobic kickboxing
participants had the problem to follow the rhythm and intensity of the exercise.
We suggest that we need to adopt easier, simpler and regular exercise to reduce
stress and to promote mastery for patients with schizophrenia, and that future research
should also be focused on the topics related to intensity, frequency, duration,
and mode of exercise.