Can remotely supervised exercise positively affect self-reported depressive symptoms and physical activity levels during social distancing?

The main objective of this cross-sectional study was to compare the self-reported depressive symptoms and physical activity (PA) levels among participants who performed self- nonexercising (NE), guided exercise (SGE), remotely supervised exercise (RSE), and face-to-face supervised exercise (FFE) during social distancing. Three hundred and forty-four individuals (≥18 years and 67% women) answered a self-reported online survey that included questions related to the physical exercise practice (e.g., supervised and remote) during social distancing and questions about perceptions of depressive symptoms (Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale-Self Rated [MADRS-S] scores) and metabolic equivalent task minutes per week (METs min•wk) of moderate- and vigorous-intensity PA, and total PA scores (International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form) before and during social distancing. The RSE group (n=45) showed higher METs of vigorous-intensity PA than the SGE (n=146) and NE (n=109) groups. The RSE and FFE (n=44) groups showed higher METs of the total PA scores than the SGE and NE groups. The NE group showed higher MADRS-S scores than the other groups. Lower MADRS-S scores depend on the exercise practice and higher METs of vigorous-intensity PA depend on the supervised exercise practice. Thus, telehealth interventions can be implemented during the pandemic to enhance vigorous PA.