With the global trend of aging, lacking of interpersonal communication and spiritual support and companionship have had a great impact on the mental health of older people living alone. This study examines the multifaceted impacts of engaging in tai chi, ba duan jin, and walking on the mental wellbeing of older people residing alone in urban areas. Additionally, this research aims to explore the association between tai chi, ba duan jin, and walking, and the mental health status of urban older people living alone, by considering the mediating influence of social participation and the moderating influence of the exercise environment. To do so, 1,027 older people living alone in six Chinese cities were investigated using the Physical Activity Rating Scale (PARS-3), the Geriatric Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), the Social Participation Indicator System Scale, and the Exercise Environment Scale. SPSS 25.0 was utilized for conducting mathematical statistical analysis, specifically for doing linear regression analysis. Additionally, AMOS was employed to develop the study model. We found that a significant negative correlation between tai chi, ba duan jin, and walking and mental health status; among these, tai chi had the greatest impact on the mental health status of urban older people living alone. Social participation mediated the relationship between tai chi, ba duan jin, walking, and mental health status, and the exercise environment had a moderating effect on this relationship. The findings of this study indicate that tai chi, ba duan jin, and walking have a positive impact on the mental health of urban older people living alone, which can be influenced by the mediating efficacy of social participation and the moderating effect of the exercise environment.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the physical and mental health of older adults has been threatened. Promoting physical and mental health through physical activity has therefore become a strategy for healthy aging. In order to better understand the impact of the participation of older adults in physical activity, this paper selects different types of physical activity, and examines the relationship between them and subjective well-being through the analysis of the mediation effect of outdoor exercise environment and the regulating effect of exercise form. In this cross-sectional study, a questionnaire survey was conducted in mainland China. The main data come from 903 older adults in five urban areas in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. The surveys were carried out using the Physical Activity Rating Scale, Newfoundland Subjective Well-Being Scale, Exercise Environment Scale, and Exercise Form Scale. SPSS was used for statistical analysis, linear regression analysis was adopted for processing data, and AMOS was used to establish a mediation model. The mediating variable is the outdoor exercise environment, and the moderating variable is exercise form; gender, age, education level, and monthly income were used as control variables. The study results showed that different physical activities (tai chi; health qigong; walking and jogging) were significantly, positively correlated with the subjective well-being of older adults (tai chi: R = 0.351, p < 0.01; health qigong: R = 0.340, p < 0.01; walking and jogging: R = 0.245, p < 0.01); among the activities, tai chi had the strongest effect on the subjective well-being of older adults (R = 0.351, p < 0.01). Outdoor exercise environment played a mediating role between different physical activity types and subjective well-being of older adults [tai chi: β = 0.030, 95% CI (0.005, 0.031); health qigong: β = 0.018, 95% CI (0.000, 0.021); walking and jogging: β = 0.034, 95% CI (0.008, 0.035)]. Exercise form moderated the subjective well-being of older adults in different physical activities (tai chi: 0.006, p < 0.05; health qigong: 0.006, p < 0.05; walking and jogging: 0.009, p < 0.001). The results of this study demonstrate that the outdoor exercise environment plays a mediating role between different physical activities and the subjective well-being of older adults, and the form of exercise can also moderate the impact of different physical activities on the subjective well-being of older adults. This study has enlightening significance for psychological intervention with older adults facing stress, anxiety and depression.

(1) Background: Although physical activity has been widely recognized as an effective way to improve anxiety and depression, we lack a systematic summary of research on improving anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study aims to systematically analyze how physical activity impacts on this situation in college students during COVID-19. (2) Methods: Both Chinese and English databases (PubMed the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Web of Science, Scopus, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang) were analyzed. All the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about physical activity intervention for this were included. We received eight eligible RCT experiments before the retrieval time (4 October 2022) in the meta-analysis. (3) Results: Physical activity benefits for college students with significant anxiety were (SMD = −0.50; 95% CI = −0.83 to −0.17; I² = 84%; p < 0.001; Z = 2.98;) and depression (SMD = −0.62; 95% CI = −0.99 to −0.25; I² = 80.7%; p < 0.001; Z = 3.27). Subgroup analyses showed physical activity of different intensities significantly impacted on improving college students’ depression and anxiety, but physical activity of 6 < 9 Mets intensity had a greater effect on anxiety than on depression. Interventions of eight weeks or less performed better than those of over eight weeks while interventions less than four times per week had a significant effect on improving the situation. The overall effect of a single intervention of 30 min was more effective than one of over 60 min. (4) Conclusion: Physical activities can effectively improve the situation of anxiety and depression for college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, a higher quality RCT experiment is needed to prove it.

This study aims to investigate the effects of Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) and brisk walking (BW) on balance and training duration for the two exercises to significantly improve balance. A total of 48 elderly women were randomly divided into three groups. The TCC and BW groups completed a 60-min intervention training program with five sessions weekly for 16 weeks. Single-leg standing balance was tested every 4 weeks. Results showed that all the variables with eyes open improved on the eighth week (p < .05) in the TCC group and on the 12th week (p < .01) in the BW group. All variables with eyes closed improved on the 12th week (p < .01) in the TCC group and on the 16th week (p < .05) in the BW group. The results showed that 12 and 16 weeks of TCC and BW, respectively were essential to improve balance with eyes closed among the women aged 60–70 years.

Background: In the context of the gradually accelerating aging of the population, the subjective well-being of older adults has received extensive research attention. Guozhuang Dance is a collective aerobic exercise that plays an important role in the physical activity of older Chinese adults. Studying the intrinsic relationship between Guozhuang Dance and the subjective well-being can help improve the quality of life and well-being of older adults in their later years. This study was conducted in Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, China, where many older adults practice Guozhuang Dance. Previous studies pointed out that group identity and self-efficacy can influence well-being in a collective exercise. Methods: For this study, we recruited 520 adults (male = 228, female = 292) aged 65 years or older from Chengdu who participated in Guozhuang Dance, to conduct a survey to understand the effect of this exercise on their subjective well-being. The Guozhuang Dance exercise scale, the group identity scale, the self-efficacy scale, and the subjective well-being scale were used in the study. We used SPSS for the descriptive statistical analysis, and AMOS for the structural equation modeling. Results: The results of the study show that Guozhuang Dance has a positive effect on enhancing the subjective well-being of older adults and can increase the subjective well-being through the chain mediating effect of group identity and self-efficacy. Conclusions: We suggest that effective measures should be taken to encourage older adults to participate in Guozhuang Dance, in order to enhance their subjective well-being.

As global urbanization accelerates, concerns regarding the mental health of urban residents have become increasingly prominent. Urban green exercise, a non-pharmacological intervention integrating exposure to nature with physical activity, has gained considerable attention due to its potential mental health benefits. However, systematic evidence synthesizing the specific effects and underlying mechanisms of urban green exercise on mental health remains limited. Following strict adherence to PRISMA guidelines, systematic searches of PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and Web Of Science identified 15 RCTs involving urban green spaces, comprising 980 participants aged 18 years and older. Methodological quality was evaluated using the Cochrane RoB 2.0 tool. Meta-analysis using standardized mean difference (SMD) was conducted using Stata 17.0, while subgroup and regression analyses were performed to explore moderating factors, including intervention period, frequency, duration per session, exercise intensity (METs), and gender. A moderate and statistically significant positive impact of urban green exercise on mental health was found (SMD = −0.40; 95% CI = −0.56 to −0.25; p < 0.001), with low between-study heterogeneity (I² = 33.9%). The most pronounced effects were associated with short-duration interventions (<12 weeks), interventions conducted at least three times weekly, session durations of 20 min or less, and low-to-moderate intensity (≤3 METs). Greater benefits were observed among female participants. This systematic review provides robust empirical support for the mental health benefits of urban green exercise in adult urban populations, highlighting the efficacy of short-duration, high-frequency, moderate-intensity intervention models. These findings offer evidence-based insights to inform urban public health policy and green space planning, emphasizing the need to enhance the accessibility and utilization of urban green spaces. Further high-quality RCTs with larger sample sizes are recommended to further validate long-term effects and elucidate underlying mechanisms.