A massive systematic review of research has concluded that exercise can mitigate depression and anxiety symptoms across all population groups and should become a first-line intervention for mental health treatment.
Its effectiveness was equal to or better than traditional drug or psychological interventions.
All exercise types were linked to improvements in mental health.
For depression, aerobic activity, especially in group or supervised settings, produced the largest benefits.
The international study, led by researchers at James Cook University and published by the BMJ Group, for the first time isolated the effect of exercise on both depression and anxiety across clinically diagnosed and non-clinical populations, including children, emerging adults, older adults and perinatal women.
For depression, the umbrella synthesis incorporated 57 pooled data analyses covering 800 individual studies and 57,930 participants between the ages of 10 and 90.
For anxiety, the review included 24 pooled data analyses representing 258 individual studies and 19,368 participants aged 18 to 67.
The researchers said the meta-meta-analysis provides robust evidence that exercise effectively reduced depression and anxiety symptoms across all age groups, comparable with, or exceeding, traditional pharmacological or psychological interventions.
"Group and supervised formats gave the most substantial benefits, underscoring the importance of social factors in mental health interventions,” they said.
"With evidence that different characteristics of exercise appear to impact depression and anxiety at varying magnitudes, tailored exercise programs must be prescribed."
"Given the cost effectiveness, accessibility and additional physical health benefits of exercise, these results underscore the potential for exercise as a first-line intervention, particularly in settings where traditional mental health treatments may be less accessible or acceptable.”
They said mental health professionals should prescribe exercise with the same confidence as traditional treatments, recognising that all exercise formats demonstrate positive effects while tailoring programmes to individual profiles and preferences (e.g., group-based/supervised formats show strongest effects for depression; shorter, lower-intensity programmes for anxiety).
Public health guidelines should position exercise as an accessible, evidence-based first-line intervention for mental health, particularly targeting emerging adults and perinatal populations where effects are strongest.
Or become our friend and subscribe to receive our fortnightly newsletter.