The CBC story contains a good summary of exercise as therapy for mild depression. The full paper on the study can be found here.
The conclusion drawn is that aerobic exercise conformant to a public health dose is equally as effective a treatment for mild to moderate MDD (major depressive disorder). It was found that there exists a strong correlation between total energy expenditure as the key factor.
My immediate reaction is that this was obvious since it seems depression is a common by-product of obesity. It seems only natural that to use exercise to treat depression could have positive results. This is alluded to in the text:
Although this study leaves many questions unanswered, it opens the door for additional research on the impact of exercise on depression. In fact, given the associations between depression and physical inactivity and/or obesity seen from a variety of perspectives, an argument could be made that any preventive or interventional research focused on obesity should include depression as an outcome.
Concerning the withdrawal story, what also seems almost obvious is also bearing out to be true. Neonatal withdrawal syndrome(NWS) is the general term. The new result extends NWS to include SSRI and SNRI (Serotonin and Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors) medication. The press release is available at PharmaLife, a pharmaceutical industry news service. This release has likely caused the issue to appear in recent news reports. However, it should be pointed out that this is old news. The FDA warned of severe NWS due to SSRI and SNRI medication. The warning reads that symptoms have been reported as early as 1997.
Okay, now I have to exercise in order to avoid my pills, now _that_ is depressing…
Seriously, obesity is serious, especially in children. Morbidly obese, or bariatric, patients are only more likely to be depressed than anyone, so this should be no surprise. The hard part is getting people to want to exercise, especially when their direct role models [parents, peers] are not participating. Then an outside party steps in, progress is made, and then… back to the drawing board when the individual returns to the home environment.
So it is not surprising to see physicians and loved ones and parents resort to the miracle of drugs; unfortunately, it isn’t a miracle anymore.
because I’ve found that exercising regularly improves my mood – and I’m not depressed.
The first week was hard, because my body wasn’t used to it, but it wasn’t long before the “feeling good” part came really quickly after strenuous exercise and during mild exercise like walking. (Going for a half-hour walk is now one of the most reliable ways to put me in a better mood…)
In fact, being forced to not exercise for more than a week starts making me really irritable. Does that mean I’m addicted? ;-)