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Getting more exercise could fight off depression

People who take regular exercise during their free time are less likely to have symptoms of depression and anxiety, a study of 40,000 Norwegians has found.

But physical activity which is part and parcel of the working day does not have the same effect, it suggests.

Writing in the British Journal of Psychiatry, the researchers said it was probably because there was not the same level of social interaction.

The charity Mind said that exercise and interaction aids our mental health.

Higher levels of social interaction during leisure time were found to be part of the reason for the link.

Researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London teamed up with academics from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and the University of Bergen in Norway to conduct the study.

Participants were asked how often, and to what degree, they undertook physical activity in their leisure time and during the course of their work.

Researchers also measured participants' depression and anxiety using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.

People who were not active in their leisure time were almost twice as likely to have symptoms of depression compared to the most active individuals, the study found.

But the intensity of the exercise did not seem to make any difference.

Read the rest at BBC.co.uk.