Research
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Aerobic and resistance training are both effective for reducing depressive symptoms, but mixed training (aerobic + resistance) showed smaller effects in subgroup analysis.
You can choose either aerobic exercise (like running or cycling) or resistance training (weight lifting) to treat depression; both are highly effective. You do not necessarily need to combine them, as the data suggests mixed training showed smaller effects in this analysis.
ModerateQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
Aerobic (SMD=-1.156) and resistance training (-1.042) as exercise types showed large effects whereas mixed aerobic and resistance training showed small effects (-0.455).
Why this rating
Subgroup analysis with fewer studies for mixed training (k=13).
Source
Exercise as medicine for depressive symptoms? A systematic review and meta-analysis with meta-regression
Andreas Heißel et al. · British Journal of Sports Medicine · 2023
DOI 10.1136/bjsports-2022-106282
Meta-analysis · 41 studiesCited 382×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Supervised exercise interventions produce larger reductions in depressive symptoms than unsupervised interventions.Limited
- Exercise interventions significantly reduce depressive symptoms in adults with major depressive disorder or clinically elevated depressive symptoms compared to non-active controls.Weak
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