Keep your kids active. That’s the message parents hear from all angles, and with new Adelaide University research suggesting fitter kids are less likely to develop depression as adults, it’s advice worth heeding.
Led by the University of Tasmania’s Menzies Institute for Medical Research, the study spans more than 30 years, finding that children and teenagers with better cardiorespiratory fitness have a lower risk of developing depression in adulthood.
Using data from the Childhood Determinants of Adult Health Study (CDAH), the research examined the cardio and muscular fitness of Australian children aged 7-15 in 1985, reassessing them when they were aged 36-49, more than three decades later.
Researchers found that cardiorespiratory fitness had a clear and consistent link with future mental health, while associations with muscular strength were weaker and less consistent. Muscle power showed no clear association.
The relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness and later depression also appeared stronger among females.
Globally, about 322 million adults (or one in 20 people) live with depression. Depression is about 1.5 times more common among women than among men.
Adelaide University researcher, Professor Grant Tomkinson, said there is an urgent need to identify modifiable factors that could reduce depression risk.
“We already know that being physically active is good for our mental health, and previous research has shown that fitter adults are less likely to develop depression,” Prof Tomkinson said.
“But we know relatively little about whether being fit early in life is linked to better mental health decades later.
“This study shows that children and teenagers with better cardiorespiratory fitness had a lower risk of developing depression as adults.
“Importantly, fitness is something we can change, it may be an important target for improving long-term mental health.”
More than 1000 participants were included in the study analysis, with childhood fitness measured using physical tests including a 1.6-kilometre run to assess cardiorespiratory fitness and a standing long jump to assess muscular power, with a smaller group also completing cycling and handgrip strength tests.
Three decades later, participants underwent a World Health Organization diagnostic interview to determine whether they had experienced depression during their lifetime.
Menzies Institute researcher, Dr Brooklyn Fraser, said the research found that childhood cardiorespiratory fitness showed the strongest and most consistent association with later depression risk.
“The data collected over 30 years has given us a rare opportunity to examine how early-life fitness relates to mental health later in life,” Dr Fraser said.
“We found that children and adolescents with better cardiorespiratory fitness had a lower risk of developing depression as adults.
“The strongest and most consistent associations in our study were observed for cardiorespiratory fitness, or fitness developed through activities that make you huff and puff.”
Menzies Institute researcher and lead author Dr Kylie Smith said the study highlights the need for further research to better understand the pathways between childhood fitness and depression.
“There are many contributing factors to depression, meaning no single factor explains risk on its own. Fitness may be one piece of the puzzle,” Dr Smith said.
“While we cannot say a lack of fitness during childhood causes depression in adults, the findings suggest that childhood fitness may have benefits beyond physical health.”