To reduce the risk of depression, exercise regularly. The latest evidence to support this advice comes from a British study published in December 2014 in JAMA Psychiatry. It followed 11,135 people (initially in their early twenties) for more than 25 years and found that the more physically active they were, the less likely they were to have symptoms of depression.
Sedentary people who started exercising three times a week, for instance, reduced their risk of depression five years later by almost 20 percent. Of course, the relationship between depression and physical activity goes two ways, since depressed people are less likely to exercise.
“Our findings emphasize the potential importance of activity to prevent and alleviate depressive symptoms in adulthood and, in turn, depressive symptoms before midlife could be a barrier to activity,” the researchers concluded.
