• Posted June 30, 2025

Exercise Helps Kids' Mood Disorders, Can Serve As Alternative To Meds, Review Finds

Regular exercise can ease mood disorders in children and teens, offering an alternative to medications like antidepressants, a new evidence review has concluded.

Both anxiety and depression decrease when kids take part in structured exercise programs, researchers reported June 26 in Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

Further, the review found that anxiety and depression symptoms are relieved by different types of workout regimens.

“Exercise is a low-cost, widely accessible strategy that could make a real difference to children’s mental health,” lead investigator Ben Singh, a research fellow with the University of South Australia, said in a news release.

Importantly, exercise could help improve kids’ moods without resorting to drugs like antidepressants, researchers added.

More than three-quarters of children and teens experience depression or anxiety, leaving parents desperate for effective solutions, researchers said in background notes.

For the new review, researchers pooled data from 375 prior clinical trials involving more than 38,000 kids 5 to 18.

Results showed that:

• Anxiety improved through low-intensity resistance exercise, such as lifting light weights or gentle training using circuit weight machines.

• Depression improved most through moderate-intensity exercise in training that combines aerobic and strength programs.

The biggest improvements in depression symptoms occurred in programs lasting fewer than three months, suggesting that benefits of exercise can emerge relatively quickly, researchers said.

Children with depression and ADHD showed the greatest improvements from exercise, researchers noted.

“The key message is simple: get active and keep active,” senior researcher Carol Maher said in a news release. “Even short bursts of movement can make a real difference to a child’s mental health and wellbeing – especially for those who are struggling.” She’s director of the University of South Australia’s Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity.

Kids don’t necessarily need to hit the gym every day, or spend long hours working out, results showed.

No significant differences were seen between kids who exercised one to three times a week and those who worked out more often, the study said.

Likewise, there was no difference between kids whose workout sessions were shorter or longer, researchers found.

“Exercise should be a core part of mental health care for children and teens, whether at school, in the community, or clinical settings,” Maher said.

“Short, structured programs that include strength training or a mix of activities seem especially promising, but simply exercising, even for short amounts of time will deliver benefits,” she said.

“And for parents, rest assured – you certainly don’t need to fork out money for a gym membership or training program; play-based activities, games, and sport are all valuable forms of movement that can support mental wellbeing,” Maher concluded.

More information

Utah State University has more on free and fun workouts for kids.

SOURCE: University of South Australia, news release, June 26, 2025