Exercise may lift energy and mental health, not depression.

The review

1. 01

   Who took part

   3,536 adults with overweight or obesity took part in 36 studies. Around three in four were women, and the average ages in each study ran from 32 to 76.

2. 02

   What they did

   Most studies had people do supervised exercise for 6 to 76 weeks, usually about 12 weeks. The other groups did no exercise.

3. 03

   What happened

   Physical quality of life, energy and mental health improved with exercise. Depression did not change clearly, and the mental side of quality of life did not change clearly either. The review found signs that some studies were not published, for two of the results. The paper gives two different totals for its studies, so the numbers do not fully add up.

What the review found

1. Helped

   Across the studies, exercise improved physical health more than groups that did none.

   Pooled analysis of 0 studies with 492 people · vs groups that did no exercise · they rated themselves · ⚠ signs that small negative studies went unpublished; the studies disagreed a lot; mixes trials with other kinds of study

2. Helped

   Across the studies, exercise gave more energy than groups that did none.

   Pooled analysis of 0 studies with 919 people · vs groups that did no exercise · they rated themselves · ⚠ signs that small negative studies went unpublished; mixes trials with other kinds of study

3. Helped

   Across the studies, exercise lifted mental health a little more than groups that did none.

   Pooled analysis of 0 studies with 858 people · vs groups that did no exercise · they rated themselves · ⚠ mixes trials with other kinds of study

4. No difference

   Across 5 studies, exercise did not cut depression more than groups that did none.

   Pooled analysis of 5 studies with 478 people · vs groups that did no exercise · they rated themselves · ⚠ mixes trials with other kinds of study

Source