Case study: the exercise placebo

Exercise and Perception

Could the placebo effect influence the benefits we get from physical exercise? This was the question Alia Crum posed in another of her landmark studies.

To investigate, she worked with a group of 84 hotel cleaners.

The Hotel Cleaner Paradox

These cleaners engaged in very intense daily physical activity (walking, vacuuming, lifting), far exceeding the U.S. Surgeon General's daily exercise recommendations.

However, when questioned, most of them did not perceive that their work counted as "exercise."

They simply saw it as "work."

The Mindset Intervention

The researchers divided the workers into two groups.

The intervention group was given a 15-minute presentation that explained in detail why their daily work was excellent exercise and showed them how many calories they burned with each task.

The The control group was not given this information.

Importantly, they were not asked to change their behavior or diet in any way; only their mindset was changed.

Real Physiological Results

Four weeks later, the results were extraordinary.

The informed group, who now believed they were getting a good workout, showed significant improvements in their health compared to the control grou