My experience as a doctor has continually shown me that exercise beats drugs for treating depression, including major depression. The medical literature on antidepressants’ effectiveness is wholly underwhelming. Many studies comparing antidepressants to placebo have found prescription medications either no better or only slightly better than a placebo.

When antidepressants are compared to exercise, research has produced striking results: Exercise is superior to the medications for treating depression.

Researchers studied whether exercise protects against new-onset depression. A healthy cohort of 33,098 individuals with no symptoms of common mental disorders were followed for 11 years. They found that undertaking regular leisure-time exercise was associated with reduced incidence of future depression. Interestingly, the protective effect occurred at low levels of exercise, and was observed regardless of intensity.

The scientists stated, “Twelve percent of future cases of depression could have been prevented if all participants had engaged in at least one hour of physical activity each week. Relatively modest changes in population levels of exercise may have important public mental health benefits, and prevent a substantial number of new cases of depression.”

The term “major depressive disorder” refers to persistent feelings of sadness and loss of interest. It can lead to severe adverse health outcomes, and is associated with a variety of emotional problems. Major depressive disorder can also lead to a feeling that life is not worth living. Needless to say, suicide is associated with this disorder.

Major depression may require medication. However, all psychiatric medications have side effects that can be difficult to manage.

What is rarely spoken about by psychiatrists is the effect of exercise on major depression. Research has shown that physical exercise is an effective treatment for major depression in adults.

Scientists looked at randomized, controlled trials of exercise interventions for people with a diagnosis of depression or major depressive disorder compared to control conditions. “Overall, exercise had a large and significant effect on depression,” they wrote. “Larger effects were found in major depressive disorder utilizing aerobic exercise at moderate and vigorous intensities.”

The authors summarized their findings by stating, “Exercise has a large and significant antidepressant effect in people with major depressive disorder. Previous meta-analyses may have underestimated the benefits of exercise due to publication bias. Our data strongly support the claim that exercise is an evidence-based treatment for depression.”