"That sounds impressive; however, the devil is in the details that the popular media completely ignored. For example, only 11 of those studies were focused on depression. The authors concluded that exercise had a medium effect on depression. It is impossible to know how a "medium" effect compares with drug therapy since the studies were not head-to-head comparisons. The study also reported that exercise benefited many other health conditions, including HIV or kidney disease, various mental disorders, and cancers."
"One point often ignored is that the benefits of exercise described in many studies decreased over time. The authors also noted that patients who exercised less often each week reported greater benefits than patients who exercised more often each week. This is the exact opposite of the typical dose-benefit relationship that should be observed. When a treatment works well for many conditions, and the benefits wear off over time or do not show a dose-response relationship, you are witnessing the placebo effect."
A large Australian meta-analysis compiled 97 studies with over 128,000 participants but only 11 studies specifically targeted depression. The meta-analysis reported a medium effect of exercise on depression, but the studies were not head-to-head comparisons with drug therapy, so comparative efficacy remains unknown. Reported benefits extended to HIV, kidney disease, other mental disorders, and cancers, and any exercise level appeared effective. Reported effects decreased over time, and participants who exercised less frequently reported greater benefits, an inverse dose-response pattern consistent with placebo influence. Head-to-head trials show exercise is no better than standard depression therapies, suggesting exercise as an adjunct therapy.
Read at Psychology Today
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