A review of 40 studies of the effects of exercise on people with chronic illnesses concludes that working out eases anxiety over what ails you. Scientists from the University of Georgia, in a report in the Feb. 22 Archives of Internal Medicine, found that exercise alleviates anxiety in sufferers of heart and circulatory issues, fibromyalgia, arthritis, various other pain conditions, cancer, mental health problems and the breathing disorder chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD. The only illness exercise didn’t seem to help: multiple sclerosis.

The report examined 40 studies. Average age of participants, 50; 59 percent were women, and on average they worked out three times a week for 42 minutes at a time over a 16-week period. Anxiety symptoms were reduced by 20 percent for those who exercised. That’s especially significant, the report found, because people who are stressed are less likely to follow a prescribed treatment regimen. Read more here.

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Alas, if you want something to be anxious about, try cutting back on your current exercise program. As I was researching Tuesday’s post about exercising more and more and more, I came across another study resulting from the 19-year-long National Runner’s Health Study. This study found that if you exercise and decide to cut back — over the winter, say — that any weight you gain as a result may be more difficult to lose than weight you already had. The phenomenon is particularly problematic for men who run less than 20 miles a week, then take a break, and women who run less than 10 miles a week.

Probably not what you wanted to hear as a colder-than-usual winter comes to a close and you’re contemplating getting active again.