A good excuse to ditch the trainers? photo: whologwhy
The background
Doing exercise does not ease the symptoms of depression, according to a new study. Researchers found that adding an exercise regime to the usual treatment of prescription drugs and counseling did not have an alleviating effect on patients recently diagnosed with depression.
“This contrasts with current clinical guidance which recommends exercise to help those suffering from the mental illness, which affects one in six adults in Britain at any one time,” reported The Telegraph.
Exercise does ease other conditions
“The message of this study of course is not that exercise isn’t good for you, exercise is very good for you, but it’s not good for treating people with what was actually quite severe depression,” Professor John Campbell, from the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, told the BBC. “That buzz we all get from moderate intensity of exercise is certainly acknowleged but it’s not sustained and it’s not appropriate for treating people with depression.”
Don’t rule out exercise because of study
The study doesn’t actually tell us anything new, pointed out Katie J. M. Baker at Jezebel: “This study isn’t that groundbreaking: it’s never been proven that exercise is an effective treatment for diagnosed clinical depression.” And the latest research doesn’t mean exercise is devoid of benefits when it comes to mental health: “It’s of course disappointing that we can’t help people suffering with depression by sending them to spin class. But these results don’t mean that people with less serious bouts of sadness don’t benefit from exercise.”
