According to the World Health Organization, one in every eight people worldwide live with a mental disorder. While counseling or medications are considered the most logical treatment options for mental health issues, new research has found that exercise can work as a mainstay approach for managing depression.
The study by University of South Australia researchers shows that physical activity is 1.5 times more effective than counseling or the leading medications.
“Physical activity is known to help improve mental health. Yet despite the evidence, it has not been widely adopted as a first-choice treatment,” lead researcher Dr. Ben Singh said in a statement.READMORE
About the study
The study used 97 reviews, 1,039 trials and 128,119 participants, marking it as one of the most extensive pieces of research to date. The findings were published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. The researchers found that exercise improved symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Results show quickly
The review showed that exercise interventions that were 12 weeks or shorter were most effective at reducing mental health symptoms. This shows that physical activity is quite a speedy treatment method.
All kinds of physical activity work
The researchers found that higher-intensity exercises had “greater improvements for depression and anxiety.” However, they also noted that all kinds of physical activity could “significantly reduce symptoms.”“We also found that all types of physical activity and exercise were beneficial, including aerobic exercise such as walking, resistance training, Pilates and yoga,” Singh said.
People who benefit the most from exercise
The researchers noted that the groups who most benefited from increased physical activity were patients with depression, women who were pregnant or postpartum, people with kidney disease, and HIV-positive individuals. Even people who were totally healthy benefited from increased physical activity.“We hope this review will underscore the need for physical activity, including structured exercise interventions, as a mainstay approach for managing depression and anxiety,” the researchers said.
Other health benefits of exercise
Past research has also shown that exercise can positively impact mental health, and also comes with other health benefits such as cancer growth reduction, cognitive decline prevention and even life longevity. Regular physical activity can also ward off cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and some cancers.
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