A large-scale observational study of nearly 18,000 individuals compared self-reported moderate to vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity, muscle-strengthening exercise, and a combination of the two.[1] The researchers observed that individuals who met Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for both aerobic and muscle-strengthening exercise[2] had the lowest prevalence ratios for depressive symptom severity. The results can be seen below, which are sorted by depression severity.
Impact of meeting CDC activity guidelines on depression
Reference: Bennie et al. Prev Med. 2019.[1]
Despite the considerable number of individual studies on this topic, further work is needed to refine potential recommendations to account for the following.
- Aerobic versus non-aerobic physical activity versus a combination of the two
- The type(s) of physical activity that may confer the greatest benefit
- Differences between males and females
- Differences across age groups
- The severity of the depression
- Comorbidities
Furthermore, it would be helpful to know the minimum duration and intensity of physical activity that still exerts a meaningful level of protection from depression.
References
- ^Bennie JA, Teychenne MJ, De Cocker K, Biddle SJHAssociations between aerobic and muscle-strengthening exercise with depressive symptom severity among 17,839 U.S. adultsPrev Med.(2019 Apr)
- ^Piercy KL, Troiano RP, Ballard RM, Carlson SA, Fulton JE, Galuska DA, George SM, Olson RDThe Physical Activity Guidelines for AmericansJAMA.(2018 Nov 20)