While dyspnea on exertion (DOE) is a common complaint in otherwise healthy obese women, less is known about feelings of unpleasantness and/or negative emotions provoked by DOE. We examined whether ratings of perceived breathlessness (RPB) during exercise were associated with ratings of unpleasantness and negative emotions (depression, anxiety, frustration, anger, and fear) in obese women.
Seventy-four women (34 ± 7 yrs, 36 ± 4 kg/m 2, 46 ± 5% body fat) performed 6 minutes of constant-load cycling (60 W); RPB (0–10 scale), and unpleasantness and negative emotions (visual analog scales, 10 cm) were assessed at the end.