BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to clarify the effects on the mental health of face-to-face exercise performed by an instructor (lesson-style group: group L) and exercise using machines (program-style group: group P) by randomized control trial. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Among 120 subjects, 117 subjects were allocated to two groups with stratified randomization by sex (group P 58 subjects; group L 59 subjects). A 60-min health exercise class was held once per week for 12 consecutive weeks. The measurement items were mental health as a primary evaluation item and self-efficacy as a secondary evaluation item. Physical fitness was also measured using a new physical fitness test used in Japan. The 12-item general health questionnaire (GHQ-12) was used to measure mental health and the general self-efficacy scale (GSES) was used to measure self-efficacy. RESULTS: After the intervention, 102 subjects were analyzed. The changes in mental health evaluated by GHQ-12 scores were significantly lower in group L -0.7 (95% CI -1.2 to -0.3) than group P -0.1 (95% CI -0.4 to 0.2) (p = 0.03). The changes in self-efficacy evaluated by GSES scores were significantly higher in group P 5.3 (95% CI 3.1 to 7.5) than group L 1.3 (95% CI -0.4 to 3.1) (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Compared with program exercises mainly using machines, face-to-face exercises performed by instructors improved mental health.

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