HHS HealthBeat (January 29, 2010)

Believing you can

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Chronic illness can make a person tired and depressed. But being physically active can reduce those feelings. At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, researcher Edward McAuley has been studying that.

McAuley says earlier studies on breast cancer survivors and on people with multiple sclerosis found people who were more physically active had less depression and fatigue. But they also had greater faith in their own ability to be active – called self-efficacy. McAuley says self-efficacy was associated with reduced depression, and in turn reduced fatigue.

And McAuley says:

[Edward McAuley speaks] ``That central characteristic – self-efficacy – is modifiable.’’

The study in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: May 7, 2011