“Exercise is an effective treatment for depression, with walking or jogging, yoga, and strength training more effective than other exercises, particularly when intense,” the researchers concluded.

Adding that yoga and strength training were well tolerated compared with other treatment modalities, the researchers said: “Exercise appeared equally effective for people with and without comorbidities and with different baseline levels of depression. To mitigate expectancy effects, future studies could aim to blind participants and staff. These forms of exercise could be considered alongside psychotherapy and antidepressants as core treatments for depression.”

Dr Michael Noetel from UQ’s School of Psychology, who reviewed the papers, was quoted in the in-house University article on the paper saying that strength training was found to be an especially effective exercise for younger women, whereas older men received the most benefit from yoga.

“We know people often respond well to medication and psychotherapy for depression, but many are resistant to treatment. We found exercise should be considered alongside traditional interventions as a core treatment for depression,” Noetel was quoted in the article titled ‘Exercising your way out of depression’.

Depression, along with anxiety disorder, is a major public health concern even in India where the incidence of depression is high.

The Union ministry of health and family welfare entrusted NIMHANS, Bengaluru with planning and conducting the National Mental Health Survey (NMHS). Conducted in 2015-16 in 12 states, the survey found one in every 20 Indians, or 5.3% of the population, was found to have suffered from depressive disorders at some point in their lives.

A WHO report published in 2017 also found nearly 4.5% of India’s population at that time suffered from depression, which was almost similar to the global percentage that stood at 4.4% in the corresponding period. India also had the highest cases of depression in the WHO’s Southeast Asia Region (WHO-SEAR), which has 11 countries.

For a resource-limited country like India, cost-effective treatment options are always welcome, say experts.

“The role of exercise in treating cases of mental health is still underrated even though there is enough evidence to suggest it works wonders in such patients. This BMJ study is a review paper, which means there already has been research from around the globe talking about the positive effects of lifestyle changes and including exercise in treating depression cases. We have also been prescribing it to our patients,” said Dr Rajesh Sagar, professor, department of psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi.

“Having said that, it is to be heavily emphasised that exercise is one of the tools and cannot replace conventional treatment modalities. It should be prescribed alongside normal treatment that message should be sent across loud and clear.”

Rhythma Kaul, national deputy editor, health, analyses the impact of the most significant piece of news this week in the health sector