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Physical Activity and Women’s Mental Health

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Women's Health and Biomechanics

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computational Vision and Biomechanics ((LNCVB,volume 29))

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Abstract

Women are twice as likely as men to develop certain mental health conditions such as depression, eating disorders, and anxiety disorders. A multimodal care, including psychotherapies as adjuncts to antipsychotic medications, is acknowledged to be crucial in teaching individual strategies and providing patients with tools to deal with these illnesses. In this scenario, physical activity has become increasingly relevant to promote physical and mental health in women with mental illness. However, it appears that women have unique experiences, risks, and needs that must be taken into account for the treatment strategies. For this reason, the provision of rehabilitation for women with mental illness has been challenging for the mental health systems reform. This underlines the importance of understanding the modern scientific and nonscientific literature about the link between physical activity and mental health in women. This chapter will present research on the relationship between physical activity and mental illness, trying to list female particularities and the advantages of exercise for their health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Center in Physical Activity, Health and Leisure (CIAFEL), Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Eluana Gomes, Raquel Costa & Rui Corredeira

  2. Center of Research, Education, Innovation and Intervention in Sport (CIFI2D), Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Tânia Bastos

  3. Research Center in Sports Sciences, Health Sciences and Human Development (CIDESD), ISMAI - Instituto Superior Da Maia, Porto, Portugal

    Tânia Bastos

  4. Research Group for Adapted Physical Activity and Psychomotor Rehabilitation, Faculty of Kinesiology and Rehabilitation Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Michel Probst

Authors
  1. Eluana Gomes
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  2. Raquel Costa
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  3. Tânia Bastos
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  4. Michel Probst
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  5. Rui Corredeira
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Eluana Gomes .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, CHSJ-EPE, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Sofia Brandão

  2. Department of Biomechanics, College of Health and Sport Science (CEFID), Santa Catarina State University (UDESC), Florianópolis, Brazil

    Thuane Da Roza

  3. Department of Radiology, CHSJ-EPE, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Isabel Ramos

  4. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, CHSJ-EPE, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Teresa Mascarenhas

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Gomes, E., Costa, R., Bastos, T., Probst, M., Corredeira, R. (2018). Physical Activity and Women’s Mental Health. In: Brandão, S., Da Roza, T., Ramos, I., Mascarenhas, T. (eds) Women's Health and Biomechanics. Lecture Notes in Computational Vision and Biomechanics, vol 29. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71574-2_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71574-2_2

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