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Exercising outdoors 'can help depression'

Experts in the US have claimed that exercise can significantly improve depression, which could encourage people to get fitter.

Gaetano Vaccaro, who works at a psychological treatment centre in California, recently told the Los Angeles Times that regular, moderate physical activity may lessen depression symptoms as much as some medications.
This view is shared by Dr Andrew Leuchter, professor of psychiatry at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behaviour, at the University of California, in Los Angeles, who told the news provider that on its own, exercise does appear to have significant effects in terms of elevating mood.

He continued to say said that if people are on medication or in treatment and have not had a complete recovery from depression, exercise is useful in getting them all the way there.

Indoor or outdoor exercise is often part of the treatment programme because it affects the brain in several ways. "People with depression tend to become somewhat inert, and they don't engage in their usual activities, and exercise gets people back to their usual level of activity," Dr Leuchter commented.

Dr David N Westerdahl of the Cleveland Clinic in Weston recently told the Miami Herald that: "Exercise truly is medicine."

He added that it can make people feel better, while helping to treat a variety of medical conditions and also aiding in the prevention of certain forms of cancer and other disease.