Throwing some water on the title:
“The study was cross-sectional, and thus the observed results could be explained by reverse causality, that is people who are more fatigued and have low mood may be more inactive,” Soini explained. “And there may be unobserved factors that could affect both physical activity and depression, and thus the association observed may not be causal
Actually the headline for the post here isn’t even the one used on the article, it’s the opening line but stops just before
But physical activity appears to be unrelated to other depressive symptoms, such as suicidal ideation, difficulty concentrating, and sleeping problems
That’s a caveat that should be part of every study on psychology. The brain is so complex that it’s impossible to control for everything.
But, this definitely isn’t the first study to show this correlation, and repeatable results are somewhat of a rarity in psychology.
It’s really not a far fetched theory in the first place. Exercise releases endorphins, and your brain likes getting high.
My thinking is that there’s also physical health issues and other issues that make physical activity less viable. Human travel (walking/biking) would be a big help*, or just more time/space/money/comfort/motivation(s)** (alternatively: if healthy options were more of a norm/incentive rather than a lucrative market to chase) which is even less likely than changes to zoning/density and infrastructure.
In any case sure, improving someone’s life in 1 aspect will provide benefits… but is anyone actually going to help with that or is it going to just result in more of the same platitudes that are already heard? I don’t think any study has much chance to create policy in the USA any decade soon.
*=That’s from experience… I’m in a semi-rural area, started biking right before the trail closed for renovation ~6months ago. Still closed, no ETA other than “early 2024”.
**=Aside from health/personal/travel reasons, maybe it’s for a hobby. Getting something out of the activity (money, electric, usable mechanical energy) would be nice if it weren’t a problem of cost/storage/loss/logistics etc.
EDIT: And I should say Bowling Alone is in force here too, but again money is probably a big part of that too.
Glad the other commenter pointed out the correlation can causation aspect. Personally and anecdotally, I remember being in the DEPTHS of a depression, taking every ounce of what I had to drag myself to the doctor, jsut for the doctor to tell me I just need a half hour of vigorous exercise a day and I’ll be fine. Lady, I don’t want to live let alone get out of bed. In what world do you think I’m going to get a vigorous anything in.
And following up on that. Though this study may be new, this relationship is not and is well known.
I almost went to see a doctor in early 2020 (cue but then the funniest thing happened). Lots of issues/complexity there too esp. carless in a lower density USA, guess I’ll wait until there are autodocs or doctor worms or something that doesn’t need forms/questions/multiple visits/uncertainty etc.
Last year I got the cheapest+lightest ebike with gears that I could find. I went 131 miles on the trail (that’s with 250w assist, usually PAS 1 or 2) until the trail shut down a few months after I got it (as mentioned elsewhere). I had noticed some effect even by mile 100 (easier riding mostly, anything else is too nebulous to judge), but being so long without activity and I probably lost all benefit and then some.
