--- title: Exercise May Prevent Depression—Not Just Alleviate It description: Women who keep exercising into midlife can prevent depression, a new study suggests canonical: https://time.com/3713268/exercise-depression/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-02-18T18:25:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:05:34.681Z article:section: Health og:title: Exercise May Prevent Depression—Not Just Alleviate It og:description: Women who keep exercising into midlife can prevent depression, a new study suggests og:url: https://time.com/3713268/exercise-depression/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf5c36c3abcf028bf/69877fb55f570f46a9b1552d/482554385-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5267 og:image:height: 2963 og:image:alt: 482554385 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Exercise May Prevent Depression—Not Just Alleviate It twitter:description: Women who keep exercising into midlife can prevent depression, a new study suggests twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf5c36c3abcf028bf/69877fb55f570f46a9b1552d/482554385-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Exercise May Prevent Depression—Not Just Alleviate It > Sponsored content. 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Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Feb 18, 2015 6:25 PM UTC  close up of female hands lacing trainers close up of female hands lacing trainers Getty Images by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Feb 18, 2015 6:25 PM UTC Getting a decent amount of exercise may be one way to prevent depression symptoms, [according to a new study](http://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/Abstract/2015/02000/Association%5Fbetween%5FPhysical%5FActivity%5Fand.15.aspx). Prior research has shown that exercise is a non-invasive way to curb depression, but fewer studies have looked at whether exercising can actually prevent the emergence of depressive symptoms. In a new study published in the journal _Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise_, researchers showed that physical activity may give women an extra edge in warding off depression that can sometimes come with aging and worsening health. The researchers looked 10 years’ worth of data from 2,891 women between ages 42 and 52, who filled out questionnaires about their depressive symptoms and levels of physical activity. They found that the women who were meeting public health recommendations for physical activity—150 minutes a week of moderate intensity exercise—reported fewer depressive symptoms. The more physical activity the women said they did, the less likely they were to have signs of depression. “Given the high prevalence of depression in the United States, particularly for women, exercise is still not considered a first-line treatment option, even though exercise can be of low cost and low risk, can be sustained indefinitely, and has additional benefits for multiple aspects of physical health and physical function,” the authors write in the study. “Our findings suggest that motivating midlife women to maintain at least some level of moderate-intensity physical activity may be protective against depressive symptoms, with some activity better than inactivity.” ### QUIZ: Should You Eat This or That?  Which is better for you: Half cup of ice cream or 3 scoops of sorbet? Getty Images (4)  Answer: A half cup of ice cream If you eat what you’re craving, you’re more likely to feel satisfied and eat less. And scoop for scoop sorbet contains twice the sugar with none of the filling dairy protein and fat. Getty Images (5); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME  Which is better for you: Real butter or spray on fake butter? Getty Images; Tara Johnson for TIME  Answer: Butter Serving size for spray butters (even low-calorie ones) are around a 1/3 second spray. What on earth does that mean? You're better off using a small amount of real butter as opposed to guessing how much you're using of the mystery melange of up to 20 ingredients. Getty Images (1); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME  Which is better for you: A turkey burger or a sirloin burger? Getty Images (2) ![Answer: Sirloin burger
Restaurant turkey burgers are often made with dark meat and the skin, so they’re not necessarily better for you \(and for the record, they aren't low-fat\). You can get a sirloin burger that’s 95% lean meat and gives you 20 g of protein. Just be careful with the toppings.](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte1b297940ae4e4e0/6986970ce53aba0cb54d318e/sirloin-burger.gif?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp) Answer: Sirloin burger Restaurant turkey burgers are often made with dark meat and the skin, so they’re not necessarily better for you (and for the record, they aren't low-fat). You can get a sirloin burger that’s 95% lean meat and gives you 20 g of protein. Just be careful with the toppings. Getty Images (1); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME  Which is better for you: Almonds or pretzels? Getty Images (2)  Answer: Almonds Almonds are high in protein, fiber and fat and will keep you feeling fuller longer. Give high-sodium pretzels about an hour and you'll feel hungry again thanks to the high-carb no-fat or protein content. Getty Images (1); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME  Which is better for you: Special K or eggs? AP; Getty Images  Answer: Eggs In the morning, you want a meal that will fill you up. Eggs offer protein and fat for satiety, but Special K cereal really only offers carbs and, well, air. If you want carbs to kick off the day, you're better off pairing eggs with a slice of 100% whole grain toast. Getty Images (1); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME  Which is better for you: Fat free salad dressing or regular salad dressing? Tara Johnson for TIME  Answer: Regular salad dressingTo absorb fat soluble vitamins like Vitamins E and K in vegetables you need to consume them with a fat to aid nutrient absorption. Fat-free dressing, meanwhile, is low-calorie but gets its flavor from added sugar and salt. Tara Johnson for TIME (5); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME  Which is better for you: A low fat cookie or dark chocolate? Getty Images (2)  Answer: Dark chocolate “People believe fat free is calorie free,” says Keri Gans, a registered dietitian in New York City. “Go for the real thing.” Fat free cookies tend to be high in carbs, sugar and fake sugar. Try a nice piece of antioxidant-rich dark chocolate instead. Getty Images (2); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME  Which is better for you: Low fat Greek yogurt or 100 calorie Yoplait yogurt? Tara Johnson for TIME  Answer: 2% Greek YogurtA little fat is good in the morning to keep you full—plus it has upwards of 17g of protein per container. Fat-free "fruit" yogurt is high in sugar—7 to 10 g per serving—and lower in protein. Tara Johnson for TIME (2); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3713268/exercise-depression/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3713268/exercise-depression/"},"headline":"Exercise May Prevent Depression—Not Just Alleviate It","datePublished":"2015-02-18T18:25:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:05:34.681Z","description":"Women who keep exercising into midlife can prevent depression, a new study suggests","url":"https://time.com/3713268/exercise-depression/","keywords":["Exercise & Fitness","Depression","Exercise","physical activity"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf5c36c3abcf028bf/69877fb55f570f46a9b1552d/482554385-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Sifferlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf5c36c3abcf028bf/69877fb55f570f46a9b1552d/482554385-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"482554385","caption":"482554385","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/exercisefitness/","name":"Exercise & Fitness"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3713268/exercise-depression/","name":"Exercise May Prevent Depression—Not Just Alleviate It"}}]}] ```