Adherence
Substituting 60 minutes of television watching with 60 minutes of brisk or very brisk walking significantly reduces the risk of incident depression in older women, whereas substituting with slow or average-paced walking does not.
If you want to reduce your risk of depression by swapping TV time for exercise, make sure you walk briskly. Simply replacing TV with slow walking does not significantly lower depression risk in this population. Aim for a pace of 3-3.9 miles per hour (brisk) for 60 minutes to see a 15% reduction in risk.
a lower depression risk (relative risk = 0.85, 95% confidence interval: 0.76, 0.95) was found when 60 minutes/day of brisk walking replaced 60 minutes/day of television watching... Conversely, no association with depression was found for replacement of television watching with 60 minutes/day of slow walking
Why this rating
Large prospective cohort (N=32,900), rigorous statistical modeling (ISM), adjusted for many confounders, but observational design limits causal inference.
Source
Isotemporal Substitution Analysis for Physical Activity, Television Watching, and Risk of Depression
Rania A. Mekary et al. · American Journal of Epidemiology · 2013
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