Regular exercise can reduce the risk of developing anxiety by almost 60% , according to a new study by Swedish researchers that has been published in Frontiers in Psychiatry .
The study is based on data from nearly 400,000 people in one of the largest population epidemiological studies of both genders.
Cross country ski
The study focused on showing that those who participated in the world’s largest long-distance cross-country skiing race (Vasaloppet) between 1989 and 2010 had a "significantly lower risk" of developing anxiety compared to non-skiers during the race. period .
According to the first author of the paper, Martine Svensson , and her colleague and principal investigator, Tomas Deierborg , from the Department of Experimental Medical Sciences at Lund University, Sweden:
We found that the more physically active lifestyle group had a nearly 60% lower risk of developing anxiety disorders over a follow-up period of up to 21 years. This association between a physically active lifestyle and a lower risk of anxiety was seen in both men and women.
However, the authors found a notable difference in the level of exercise performance and the risk of developing anxiety between male and female skiers. While the physical performance of a male skier did not appear to affect the risk of developing anxiety, the group of higher performing skiers had almost twice the risk of developing anxiety disorders compared to the group that was physically active at a performance level. lower.