A third of people at risk of mental health issue could avoid it with regular workouts, study shows

Can exercise stop one in three cases of depression? A third of people at risk of mental health issue could avoid it with regular workouts, study shows

Research suggests getting moving can reduce risk of depression and anxiety
75 minutes a week of vigorous exercise could reduce risk by almost 19 per cent
Figures come as one in five adults in the UK suffer from depression or anxiety

By Victoria Allen, Science Editor For The Daily Mail

Published: 17:01 EST, 6 November 2022 | Updated: 03:23 EST, 7 November 2022

<!–

<!– <!–

<!–

(function (src, d, tag){
var s = d.createElement(tag), prev = d.getElementsByTagName(tag)[0];
s.src = src;
prev.parentNode.insertBefore(s, prev);
}(“https://www.dailymail.co.uk/static/gunther/1.17.0/async_bundle–.js”, document, “script”));
<!–

DM.loadCSS(“https://www.dailymail.co.uk/static/gunther/gunther-2159/video_bundle–.css”);

<!–

A third of people at risk of depression and anxiety could prevent it by getting enough exercise, a study suggests.

Exercise is a well-known treatment for those with depression, with doctors even prescribing it.

But moving more could prevent people becoming depressed and anxious in the first place, a study of more than 37,000 people suggests.

If everyone managed 75 minutes a week of vigorous exercise – which makes you breathe hard and includes running and swimming – it could prevent almost 19 per cent of cases of depression and anxiety, researchers concluded.

Research suggests regular exercise could reduce diagnoses of depression and anxiety

And if we all did between two-and-a-half hours and five hours a week of moderate activity – which makes you breathe faster and includes brisk walking, cycling and dancing – another 13 per cent of depression and anxiety diagnoses might never happen.

These findings suggest almost a third of cases of depression and anxiety, which affect one in five adults in the UK, might be preventable through exercise.

Dr Carlos Celis-Morales, senior author of the study from the University of Glasgow, said: ‘This is a very strong public health message, as exercise is free, and everyone can increase how much they do in a week.’

Cancer patients should be prescribed exercise classes on the… NHS weight loss app is as good as visit to a slimming group…

The study, in the journal BMC Medicine, looked at people aged 37 to 73 who had not anxiety. They were given fitness trackers to monitor physical activity.

When they were followed up, for almost seven years on average, around 3 per cent had developed depression or anxiety.

Based on the results, researchers calculated that sedentary people who switched to 75 to 150 minutes a week of vigorous activity would be 29 per cent less likely to develop depression or anxiety.

Doing 150 to 300 minutes a week of moderate physical activity would reduce the risk of becoming anxious or depressed by 47 per cent.

More research is needed, as the study authors do not yet understand if it is the exercise itself making the difference.

Although physical activity does flood the brain with reward chemicals, the benefits may be more about exercising with other people and the boost we get from socialising.

HOW MUCH EXERCISE YOU NEED

To stay healthy, adults aged 19 to 64 should try to be active daily and should do:

at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity such as cycling or brisk walking every week and

strength exercises on 2 or more days a week that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms)

Or:

75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity such as running or a game of singles tennis every week and

strength exercises on 2 or more days a week that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms)

Or:

a mix of moderate and vigorous aerobic activity every week – for example, 2 x 30-minute runs plus 30 minutes of brisk walking equates to 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity and

strength exercises on 2 or more days a week that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms)

A good rule is that 1 minute of vigorous activity provides the same health benefits as 2 minutes of moderate activity.

One way to do your recommended 150 minutes of weekly physical activity is to do 30 minutes on 5 days every week.

All adults should also break up long periods of sitting with light activity.

Source: NHS

Comments

Share what you think

Newest
Oldest
Best rated
Worst rated

The comments below have not been moderated.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook.

You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.