During the COVID pandemic, the advice was strikingly consistent: keep moving. Go for a walk, go for a run, stay active for your mental health. That advice did not come out of nowhere. It was already grounded in research at the time. And we know physical exercise has many benefits. But now we know more about the link between exercise on the one side and mental health, depression,  and anxiety on the other side.

A new study by Munro and colleagues adds another solid layer of evidence. They brought together dozens of meta-analyses, covering more than 79,000 participants in total, and examined the effect of exercise on symptoms of depression and anxiety.

The core message is simple: exercise helps. The effects are clear and not small. For depressive symptoms, the effect is moderate. For anxiety, the researchers find a small to moderate effect. That already matters. In a field where effects are often modest, this is substantial. It confirms that exercise is not just a “nice extra”, but can be considered a serious intervention.

But, as is often the case, it becomes more interesting when you look closer.

Not every form of exercise works in the same way. Aerobic activities such as walking, running or cycling show the strongest associations with improvement. Also noteworthy: exercising in groups works better than doing it alone. And supervision seems to make a difference. That last point is not trivial. It suggests that the effect of exercise is not purely physical. The social context plays a role.

There are also clear differences between depression and anxiety. For depressive symptoms, longer programmes and a certain level of intensity seem more important. For anxiety, shorter and lower-intensity interventions appear to be more effective. This makes the story less simple than it is often presented. “Exercise helps” is true. But how, how much, and in what form depend on the outcome you are looking at.

There are limitations as well. The studies differ considerably in design and in what exactly counts as “exercise”. And the effects concern symptoms, not necessarily diagnoses. That distinction remains important.

So yes, the advice from the COVID period still holds. Exercise supports mental health, but always in context.