Etihad Newspaper – Physical Activity – Reduced Risk of Injury and Depression

Union

Physical activity can protect against depression

Winter is the time of year when people are most likely to suffer from depression, partly because of the cold and the dark, but also because people tend to reduce their time out of home and that social and physical activities are diminishing.
Depression has long been linked to physical activity, but the nature of this badociation has so far left a question on the table: can exercise reduce the risk of depression in the first place ?
"Using genetic data, we found evidence that higher levels of physical activity could indirectly reduce the risk of depression," said team leader Carmel Choi.
This means that if you exercise regularly, your risk of depression will actually be reduced. This research is based on datasets from studies on the badociation at the genetic level of physical activity and depression.
There were two sets of data on physical activity, one in which participants self-recorded exercise levels and another collected from a motion sensor.
The motion sensor data showed that physical activity could prevent depression, but the self-recorded data set did not find this relationship.
The study revealed that it may be because people did not mention certain forms of physical activity in their relationships, such as walking to work or cleaning the house.
However, according to the study, any form of physical activity can help prevent depression.
She adds that researchers are now looking into the benefits of sports for different people and how this information can help promote physical activity in general.
People with a genetic predisposition to depression may need to take a different approach to exercise than those who have experienced stressful situations that have resulted in depression.