By Alexandra Thompson Senior Health Reporter For Mailonline
Published: 10:27 GMT, 22 February 2019 | Updated: 10:27 GMT, 22 February 2019
View
comments
Just 15 minutes of jogging every day could reduce the risk of depression, a doctor has said.
Speaking on the back of a recent study that found physically-active people are less at risk of the mental-health condition, a medic from Massachusetts General Hospital urges the public to 'just move'.
Whenever patients come to him complaining they are feeling down, the doctor tells them to 'get outside and do something' before he will prescribe an antidepressant.
Just 15 minutes of jogging every day could reduce the risk of depression (stock)
Dr David Agus, from the hospital's department of psychiatry, told CBS News: 'My patients now, when they say, "I'm starting to feel a little depressed and not do as much," my first thing is not prescribe a pill, but get outside and do something.'
'Fifteen minutes of jogging, an hour of gardening.'
Depression is the leading cause of disability in the US for people aged 15-to-44, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America.
The condition affects more than 16.1million Americans (6.7 per cent) every year.
And in the UK, 19.7 per cent of people over 16 showed symptoms of depression or anxiety in 2014, Mental Health Foundation statistics show.