Overview
- Across nearly 5,000 adults, exercise produced a moderate reduction in depressive symptoms compared with no treatment or control.
- Ten head-to-head trials found little to no difference between exercise and psychological therapies in easing symptoms on average.
- Comparisons with antidepressants suggested similar effects, though the evidence base was small and rated low certainty.
- Light to moderate activity, mixed resistance plus aerobic programs, and roughly 13–36 sessions were linked to better outcomes than vigorous exercise or aerobic-only plans.
- Reported harms were uncommon in exercise groups, while medication arms showed typical side effects, but most trials were small with short follow-up, underscoring the need for larger, longer studies.