Study Finds Physically Active Kids Less Depressed

Study Finds Physically Active Kids Less Depressed: Children who regularly engage in moderate to vigorous physical activity -- the type that leaves them sweaty and out of breath -- are less likely to develop depression, according to a new study by researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and NTNU Social Research. 'Being active, getting sweaty and roughhousing offer more than just physical health benefits. They also protect against depression,' said first author Tonje Zahl, a Ph.D. candidate at NTNU. Although previous studies have found a link between physical activity and a lower risk for depression in adults and young people, the same effect has not been studied in children until now. For the new study, published in the journal Pediatrics, the researchers followed hundreds of children over four years to see if they could find a correlation between physical activity and symptoms of depression. They examined just under 800 children when they were six years old, and conducted follow-up examinations with