Exercise twice as effective as antidepressants
EXERCISE is twice as effective at treating depression as antidepressants, a study has suggested.
Walking or jogging at least two to three times a week was considered the best way to improve symptoms of depression, researchers revealed.
Experts analysed 14,170 people with major depression disorder from 218 separate trials and ranked different forms of exercise by how effective they were at treating the condition compared with existing treatments. While all forms of intervention were effective to some degree, taking antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIS) – the most commonly prescribed type – on their own was less effective than either exercise or therapy, the study found.
The antidepressants did produce a small clinical benefit in people’s symptoms, improving them by about 26 per cent, but those who walked or jogged at moderate levels, such as for 30 minutes a time, saw improvements of about 63 per cent, on average.
A record 8.6 million people in England were prescribed antidepressants in 2022-23, while as many as one in six people has symptoms of moderate or severe depression, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The NHS issued national guidance to GPS last year urging them to stop writing repeat prescriptions for those who have become dependent on common medications, including antidepressants, in favour of activities like art, music and gardening classes.
Exercise is also being prescribed by doctors, with NHS drug watchdog, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, recommending group exercise sessions at least once a week for 10 weeks with a trained practitioner.
The study, led by researchers at the University of Queensland, Australia, also found that yoga was as effective as cognitive behavioural therapy, both of which produced a “moderate” improvement in symptoms of about 55 per cent.
Cycling, strength training and tai chi all scored better than antidepressants alone, although not as high as other forms of exercise.