Our study shows that food and exercise can treat depression just as well as a psychologist. And they’re cheaper.

Around 3.2 million Australians suffer from depression.

At the identical time, several Australians meet really useful guidelines for weight loss program or physical activity. What does one must do with the opposite?

Our world first process, published this weekshows that changing your weight loss program and increasing your physical activity can be as effective as therapy with a psychologist in treating mild depression.

Previous studies (including our own) have found that “lifestyle” therapies are effective in treating depression. But they’ve never been compared on to psychological therapies—until now.

Among the nationwide deficiency mental health professionals, our research points to a potential solution. Because we found that lifestyle counseling is as effective as psychological therapy, our findings suggest that dietitians and exercise physiologists may sooner or later play a role in managing depression.

What did we measure in our study?

During the prolonged COVID-19 lockdowns, Victorians’ anxiety levels have been high high and wide spreadAvailability of direct mental health services was limited.

Our study checked out people living in Victoria with elevated stress levels, which suggests at the least mild depression but not necessarily a diagnosed mental disorder. Typical symptoms included feeling down, hopeless, irritable or tearful.

We have established cooperation with our local mental health service recruit 182 adults and provide group sessions on Zoom. All participants attended as much as six sessions over eight weeks, led by healthcare professionals.

Half were randomly assigned to take part in a program co-led by an accredited practicing dietitian and exercise physiologist. This group – called the life-style program – developed goals for nutrition and exercise:

• eating a wide selection of foods
• selecting plant foods high in fiber
• including top quality fats
• limiting discretionary foods, such as foods high in saturated fats and added sugars
• performing enjoyable physical activity.

The second group participated in psychotherapy sessions convened by two psychologists. The psychotherapy program used cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), the gold standard for treating depression in groups and in case of distant delivery.

In each groups, participants were allowed to proceed their existing treatment (such as antidepressants). We gave each groups workbooks and gift basketsThe lifestyle group received a food parcel, while the psychotherapy group received items such as a colouring book, a stress ball and a head massager.

Lifestyle therapies are just as effective

We obtained similar leads to each program.

At the start of the study, we gave each participant a rating based on their self-rated mental health. We measured them again at the tip of this system.

Over the course of eight weeks, these results showed a reduction in depressive symptoms in participants in the life-style program (42%) and the psychotherapy program (37%). This difference was not statistically or clinically significant, so we could conclude that each sorts of treatment were equally good.

There were some differences between the groups. Those in the life-style program improved their weight loss program, while those within the psychotherapy program felt their social support—meaning how connected they felt to other people—increased compared with once they began treatment.

Participants in each programs increased their physical activity. While this was expected of participants in the life-style program, it was less expected of participants within the psychotherapy program. This could also be because they knew they were collaborating in a lifestyle study and subconsciously modified their activity patterns, or it might be a positive side effect of psychotherapy.

There was no big difference in cost either. The lifestyle programme was barely cheaper to run: A$482 per participant in comparison with A$503 for psychotherapy. This is because hourly rates vary between dietitians, exercise physiologists and psychologists.

What does this mean for mental health workforce shortages?

Demand for mental health services is growing in Australia, while the workforce is growing as shortages worsen across the country.

Psychologists who provide about half all mental health services, can have long wait times. Our results suggest that with appropriate training and guidance, allied health professionals who focus on weight loss program and exercise could help address this gap.

Lifestyle therapies can be combined with psychological sessions to supply multidisciplinary care. However, dietary and exercise therapies can be particularly effective for people waiting to see a psychologist, who may not receive another skilled support while they wait.

Many dietitians and exercise physiologists have already got advanced skills and experience in motivating behavior change. Most accredited practicing dietitians are trained in management eating disorders Or gastrointestinal diseaseswhich frequently overlap with depression.

There can be an argument about cost. It is it’s cheaper overall Training a dietitian ($153,039) costs lower than training a psychologist ($189,063) – and takes less time.

Potential barriers

Australians with chronic conditions (such as diabetes) can access subsidized visits to a dietitian and exercise physiologist under various Medicare treatment plans. People with eating disorders can also access subsidized visits to a dietitian. However, mental health plans for individuals with depression don’t support subsidized sessions with dietitians or exercise physiologists, despite peak bodies persuading them to accomplish that.

Increased training, skills development, and Medicare funding can be needed to enable dietitians and exercise physiologists to take part in the treatment of mental health problems.

Our training and clinical guidelines are intended to help clinicians practicing lifestyle-based mental health care inside their scope of practice (activities that can be undertaken by a health care provider).

Future Directions

Our study took place throughout the COVID lockdowns and included individuals with at the least mild symptoms of depression who didn’t necessarily have mental health conditions. We are attempting to copy these findings and are currently conducting test open to Australians affected by mental health conditions such as severe depression or bipolar disorder.