Asics study confirms benefits of physical activity for mental health

This text was written by a TecMundo columnist; Learn more at the end.

The origin of sporting goods brand Asics refers to the importance of a healthy mind; The acronym ASICS stands for “Anima Sana In Corpore Sano” which means a healthy mind in a healthy body. More than spreading exercise is good for physical healthThe brand has endeavored to research and delve into the mental health effects of the movement.

Find out how he does it through his five actions and hear the results of the brand’s latest study.

Movie on Prime Video

I discovered the importance of mental health for Asics when I watched the documentary “Mind Games – Experiment” published by Prime Video. A while ago, I wrote a column on the interesting topic of exercise and improving cognition, and based on this, I had the opportunity to explore the project that the brand has.

capsule sneakers

The latest marketing campaign presented the company’s sneakers in new packaging: a capsule that turns sneakers into medicated tablets. In a previous article, I wrote about whether this meaning of “exercise as medicine” could be a good way.

Website to be used before and after training

The brand, together with famous researcher Brendon Stubbs, created an incredible tool called “Mind Uplifter”, which allows the exerciser himself to control the effects of exercise on the mind. There we answered some pre- and post-workout questions and had our faces scanned.

With this tool we discovered: The minimum time required for practitioners to feel the mental health benefits of exercise was just 15 minutes and 9 secondsMore than 1 thousand people participated in the survey.

If you don’t have access to the brand’s tool, you can take a photo of yourself before and after your workout session; However, you can take photos of your face, not your body. The most important thing before and after exercise seems to be about mental health, not physical fitness. You can notice this from your facial expression and mood.

Exercise and its impact on women’s mental health

The largest global study on gender inequality conducted this year, commissioned by Asics (more than 24,000 people across 40 countries), found: QThe more women move, the better they feel. Women who exercise regularly are: 52% happier, 50% more energetic, 48% more self-confident, 67% less stressed and 80% less angry. However, more than half of women do not exercise as much as they would like.

45% of women in Brazil want to exercise more. They face barriers to exercise. The most commonly reported were: having other responsibilities (76%), lack of time (74%), and the cost of coaches (62%). Lack of safe spaces (43%), not feeling fit enough (42%) and body insecurity (37%) also pose obstacles.

Men’s perception of the obstacles facing women differed from reality. While only 34% of men responded to lack of time, 74% of women noted this barrier. While more than half of men (58%) stated that body insecurity was an obstacle for them, the reality was 36%.

Asics Global Survey in 2024

Asics conducted a global study on mental state – a survey of 26,000 people in 22 countries; This makes it clear that the more people move, the higher their score on the score created by the brand (mental state). On a scale of up to 100, active people scored an average of 67/100, while inactive people scored 54/100. In Brazil, inequality was greater; 64/100 for active and 45/100 for inactive.

Among the participating countries, China (78/100), followed by Saudi Arabia and India, had the best mental status scores, while Brazil ranked 13th out of 22 countries, with 62/100, below the world average.

The research highlights the importance of exercise during adolescence because it affects mental state in adulthood. The most important age group for this was the 15-17 age group. Giving up exercise in this age group may endanger mental health in later years.

Encouraging young people, especially those aged 15 to 17, to exercise is a consistent action.

For this purpose, it is even more important to go beyond “exercise for your health” in this audience, because this motivation may not be enough. According to researcher Brendon Stubbs, if young people experience joy, accomplishment, connection, freedom of choice and purpose while exercising, there is hope. Stubbs emphasizes that there is no right or wrong type of exercise, the main message is to find an exercise you enjoy and try to be consistent.

The emotional benefits of exercise are also highlighted by campaigns where the company focuses not on aesthetics or physical fitness, but on dramatic transformations in mental health. However, all of these transformations are invisible to the eye because they are related to how we feel. Therein lies the underrated potential of exercise, which can make us want to keep it up as a routine.

Asics has been committed to promoting mental health and psychological well-being in recent years and its motto is: It’s time to activate your mind. A different focus that can make a difference for the success of the brand and our education.

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Fábio Dominski He holds a PhD in Human Movement Sciences and a degree in Physical Education from Santa Catarina State University (UDESC). He is a university professor and researcher at the Laboratory of Sport and Exercise Psychology (LAPE/UDESC). he is doing scientific dissemination on social media there podcast available on Spotify. Author of Physical Exercise and Science – Facts and Myths.

*There is no conflict of interest between the author and the sports equipment brand.