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Exercise and Depression

By Henry J. Fishman, M.D.
ConsumerAffairs.com

July 21, 2005

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Does regular exercise improve your mood and help relieve depression? Yes, according to a study published recently in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Researchers studied 80 people with mild to moderate depression. They divided them into five groups. One group did moderate exercise on a stationary bike or treadmill for 30 minutes three times a week. A second group did 30 minutes five times a week.

Two groups did gentle exercises three and five days a week and one placebo group just stretched a bit.

After three months, those who exercised the most intensely had the least depression, nearly 50 percent less than at the beginning of the study. Folks who exercised gently and the placebo group had about a 30 percent improvement.

Conclusion? The study was small and was funded by an exercise equipment manufacturer. Still, folks with mild to moderate depression may want to talk with their doctors about regular, strenuous exercise in addition to their other therapies.

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