Exercise may ease depression as much as medication, study suggests

A Cochrane review of 73 randomized trials involving nearly 5,000 adults found that exercise reduced depressive symptoms and showed little to no difference compared with psychological therapy or antidepressants for many participants; light-to-moderate activity and mixed programs including resistance training were most associated with benefit, while long-term effects remain uncertain.

A new Cochrane review reports that regular exercise may ease symptoms of depression. Researchers pooled 73 randomized trials involving nearly 5,000 adults diagnosed with depression. The review compared exercise with psychological therapy, antidepressants, and inactive control groups. Findings: - The review found that exercise reduced depressive symptoms and, for many participants, showed little to no difference compared with psychological therapy or antidepressants. - Light-to-moderate intensity activity and mixed programs that included resistance training were associated with greater benefit than vigorous-only programs, and no single activity type clearly stood out as best. - The authors noted limitations in the included studies, including risk of bias and uncertain long-term effects; adverse events from exercise were reported as uncommon, typically muscle or joint issues or occasional worsening of depression. Summary: The review suggests exercise can produce measurable reductions in depressive symptoms for many people and that certain program features (moderate intensity and resistance training) were linked with larger effects. The research team called for larger, higher-quality studies to determine which exercise approaches work best for different people and whether benefits persist over time.