Research by Professor Jo Jun-yong's Team at Korea National Sport University
A study has found that non-face-to-face exercise can alleviate postpartum depression in mothers.
On the 9th, the research team led by Professor Joon-Yong Cho from the Department of Exercise and Health Management at Korea National Sport University announced that they experimentally demonstrated the effect of non-face-to-face exercise in reducing the likelihood of postpartum depression among pregnant women during the infectious disease pandemic.
During the period when social distancing became routine due to the COVID-19 pandemic, mothers, as a socially vulnerable group, experienced physical and mental fatigue and lethargy, increasing the risk of postpartum depression.
The research team began the study aiming to reduce mental health risks by encouraging mothers to continuously participate in exercise through Pilates-based non-face-to-face exercise guidance.
The team proposed that participation in non-face-to-face exercise can maintain mental health by reducing weight gained during pregnancy and strengthening muscles, thereby suppressing the structural and metabolic imbalances commonly occurring after childbirth. They also verified that continuous participation in exercise through online platforms and other non-face-to-face exercise guidance can achieve mental health improvement effects comparable to those of face-to-face exercise guidance.
Professor Cho stated, “As part of preparing for mental health risks that may arise from the easing of COVID-19 prevention measures and unexpected new or recurring infectious diseases, it is necessary to actively adopt successful models for building online platforms for non-face-to-face exercise guidance and to make efforts to revitalize them.”
The results of this study were published in the prestigious international journal Scientific Reports.
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