Diet and Exercise Found to Be as Effective as Therapy in Treating Depression, Study Reveals
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Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide and is associated with disruptions to several brain and psychological processes, including impaired learning and memory.
A recent trial shows improving diet and doing more physical activity can be as effective as therapy with a psychologist for treating low-grade depression. Previous studies have found “lifestyle” therapies are effective for depression. But they have never been directly compared with psychological therapies.
The research targeted people with elevated distress, meaning at least mild depression but not necessarily a diagnosed mental disorder. Typical symptoms included feeling down, hopeless, irritable or tearful. After partnering with local mental health service, the authors recruited 182 adults and provided group-based sessions. All participants took part in up to six sessions over eight weeks, facilitated by health professionals.
Half were randomly assigned to participate in a program co-facilitated by an accredited practicing dietitian and an exercise physiologist. That group – called the lifestyle program – developed nutrition and movement goals: -eating a wide variety of foods -choosing high-fibre plant foods -including high-quality fats -limiting discretionary foods, such as those high in saturated fats and added sugars doing enjoyable physical activity.
The second group took part in psychotherapy sessions convened by two psychologists. The psychotherapy program used cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), the gold standard for treating depression in groups and when delivered remotely.
The results showed that over eight weeks, the self reported mental health scores showed symptoms of depression reduced for participants in the lifestyle program by 42 per cent and the psychotherapy program by 37 per cent. That difference was not statistically or clinically meaningful. People in the lifestyle program improved their diet, while those in the psychotherapy program felt they had increased their social support – meaning how connected they felt to other people – compared to at the start of the treatment.
Therefore, it was concluded that Lifestyle therapies can be combined with psychology sessions for multi-disciplinary care. But diet and exercise therapies could prove particularly effective for those on waitlists to see a psychologist, who may be receiving no other professional support while they wait.
Ref: Adrienne O’Neil, Joahna Perez et al, Clinical and cost-effectiveness of remote-delivered, online lifestyle therapy versus psychotherapy for reducing depression: results from the CALM non-inferiority, randomised trial; The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific 2024;▪: 101142, DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanwpc.2024.101142
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