We live in an era in which medical science is advancing at an extraordinary pace, especially given the impact of cloud data processing capabilities on the scope of studies and diagnostic tools. Although the speed at which health and nutrition research is being released is exciting, we also live in an age of a fast news cycle, in which healthcare sites compete for traction with the best breaking stories. In that context, misleading reports can proliferate as one particularly compelling, eye-catching “spin” is copycatted across the web.
In an article for Medical News Today, Catharine Paddock, PhD, reported on the media blitz following a 2012 study, with numerous publications reporting that exercise is unhelpful in the treatment of depression. By failing to recognize that the impact of workouts on depression was not the focus of the study, the news coverage “has run the risk of misleading people,” wrote Dr. Paddock. She stressed that many professionals in the field of depression feel that exercise is beneficial, especially when patients are also in need of weight loss or battling life-threatening conditions such as diabetes or heart disease.
Study from BMJ misunderstood
For the study, which was published in the BMJ (British Medical Journal), researchers sought to find out if they could reduce symptoms of depression by adding a certain type of exercise program to the treatment strategy. In other words, they were not testing workouts themselves but a particular workout protocol.
The exercise protocol tested is called TREAD (TREAtment of Depression with physical activity). TREAD uses motivational tactics and the freedom to determine specific physical tasks based on the patient’s environment, fitness level, and personal preference.
The researchers conducted a clinical trial in which almost 400 depression patients were analyzed. Half were placed in a control group and received only standard treatment, while the other half experienced TREAD in addition to standard care. The patients followed these two separate courses for between six and eight months.
Results & what they really mean
It’s easy to see why the media took the angle that they did: the findings indicate that the exercise group “fared no better than those who only received the usual care.” That result, though, should not be overgeneralized. First, the study did find that the patients exposed to TREAD continued experiencing the weight loss benefits of increased physical activity months after the study concluded.
Furthermore, many studies have shown that exercise is positive for depression, suggesting weaknesses specific to the TREAD approach.
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