Exercise Can Help Children with Symptoms of Depression

The headline above comes from the January 4, 2023, issue of the Wall Street Journal. This article, and several others in the press on this subject, report on a study that was published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics on January 3, 2023. The JAMA Pediatrics study titled, "Physical Activity Interventions to Alleviate Depressive Symptoms in Children and Adolescents" began by asking the question, "Can physical activity interventions alleviate depressive symptoms in children and adolescents?"

The study stated the importance of the findings of this study by noting, "Depression is the second most prevalent mental disorder among children and adolescents, yet only a small proportion seek or receive disorder-specific treatment. Physical activity interventions hold promise as an alternative or adjunctive approach to clinical treatment for depression."

This study conducted a "meta-analysis" (a review of other previous studies) of 21 prior studies involving 2441 children and adolescents. Of this total, 47% were boys and 53% were girls. Study co-author, Walter Thompson, a retired professor of exercise physiology with Georgia State University in Atlanta, commented that "This is the first time that we've been able to put enough studies together so that we can make a pretty good conclusion to answer the question, 'Is physical activity and exercise good for children with depressive symptoms?" He then answered his own question with "The answer is overwhelmingly yes."

Lead author Francesco Recchia, MSc, of the School of Public Health at the University of Hong Kong commented, "The available evidence supports physical activity interventions as an alternative or adjunctive approach to alleviate depressive symptoms in children and adolescents, substantiating the beneficial influence of physical activity on the mental health of pediatric populations."

The study also discovered some additional helpful information noting that children who were 13 years-of-age and older received more benefits from regular exercise than those under 13. Additionally, they found that those teens who were already suffering with a pre-existing mental illness or depression got greater benefits than those teens who were considered healthy.

The study reported that an hour of physical activity three days a week provided the best relief for symptoms of depression. Co-author Thompson pointed out that this amount of exercise is fairly close to what is currently recommended for kids. "And you know, that's pretty close to what the federal government has recommended as regular exercise for both children and adults, somewhere between 75 and 150 minutes a week."

"This study adds to the body of knowledge that good health is obtainable without the overdependence on medications," commented Dr. Selina Sigafoose-Jackson, president of the International Chiropractors Association. "The chiropractic profession has always valued a drugless approach to health and continues to hold that many of society’s growing health issues can be improved by searching for non-pharmacological solutions."