Exercising regularly can improve symptoms of mild to moderate depression as well as anxiety and psychological distress, a review of many prior published studies suggests.

The analysis, published online Feb. 16, 2023, by the

British Journal of Sports Medicine

, used 97 earlier research reviews involving more than 1,000 trials with a total of 128,119 people. Researchers compared the effects of exercise to standard care across a wide range of adults, including healthy people, those with diagnosed mental health disorders, and people with chronic diseases.