Running as effective as medication to beat depression, study shows

Health

By Adriana Diaz

Go ahead — run away from your problems.

The popular aerobic exercise may be as potent a weapon against the blues as medication, a new European study suggests.

Researchers from Vrije University, Amsterdam asked 141 patients suffering from depression and anxiety to choose between a group run, two to three times a week, or taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants. After 16 weeks, participants’ mental and physical health were examined.

Of those, 96 opted to join the running group, while 45 chose to be medicated.

The team found that “both interventions helped with the depression to around the same extent,” Professor Brenda Penninx shared at a recent Neuropsychopharmacology conference in Barcelona.

Forty-four percent of people with depression and anxiety reported feeling better, whether they spent 16 weeks going on runs or 16 weeks taking antidepressants.

Exercising improved participants’ weight, waist circumference, blood pressure and heart function.

Meanwhile, people who took antidepressants tended to become less fit.

“Antidepressants generally had worse impact on body weight, heart rate variability and blood pressure, whereas running therapy led to improved effect on general fitness and heart rate for instance,” Penninx said.

“In the end, patients are only truly helped when we are improving their mental health without unnecessarily worsening their physical health”.

However, the expert noted that a more significant portion of the runners dropped out, with just 52 percent sticking to the plan versus 82 percent of those taking the pills.

“The study shows that lots of people like the idea of exercising, but it can be difficult to carry this through, even though the benefits are significant,” Penninx noted.

“Telling patients to go run is not enough. Changing physical activity behavior will require adequate supervision and encouragement as we did by implementing exercise therapy in a mental health care institution.”

Experts also noted that patients in the antidepressant group were more depressed, which might have impacted the likelihood of them choosing and maintaining an exercise routine.

This is why the study attempted to disrupt the sedentary lifestyle that often accompanies depression and anxiety, encouraging people to head outside, set goals, improve fitness and get involved in a group activity.

“We know that not treating depression at all leads to worse outcomes; so antidepressants are generally a good choice. Nevertheless, we need to extend our treatment arsenal as not all patients respond to antidepressants or are willing to take them,” Penninx said.

“Our results suggest that implementing exercise therapy is something we should take much more seriously, as it could be a good – and maybe even better – choice for some of our patients.”

“It is important to say that there is room for both therapies in care for depression,” Penninx clarified.

The study comes as nearly 1 in 5 US adults have been diagnosed with depression and teens feel hopeless and suicidal — more than ever before, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has warned.