“The study was cross-sectional, and thus the observed results could be explained by reverse causality, that is people who are more fatigued and have low mood may be more inactive,” Soini explained. “And there may be unobserved factors that could affect both physical activity and depression, and thus the association observed may not be causal

Actually the headline for the post here isn't even the one used on the article, it's the opening line but stops just before

But physical activity appears to be unrelated to other depressive symptoms, such as suicidal ideation, difficulty concentrating, and sleeping problems

[–] pearsaltchocolatebar@discuss.online 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

That's a caveat that should be part of every study on psychology. The brain is so complex that it's impossible to control for everything.

But, this definitely isn't the first study to show this correlation, and repeatable results are somewhat of a rarity in psychology.

It's really not a far fetched theory in the first place. Exercise releases endorphins, and your brain likes getting high.

[–] insomniac_lemon@kbin.social 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

My thinking is that there's also physical health issues and other issues that make physical activity less viable. Human travel (walking/biking) would be a big help*, or just more time/space/money/comfort/motivation(s)** (alternatively: if healthy options were more of a norm/incentive rather than a lucrative market to chase) which is even less likely than changes to zoning/density and infrastructure.

In any case sure, improving someone's life in 1 aspect will provide benefits... but is anyone actually going to help with that or is it going to just result in more of the same platitudes that are already heard? I don't think any study has much chance to create policy in the USA any decade soon.

*=That's from experience... I'm in a semi-rural area, started biking right before the trail closed for renovation ~6months ago. Still closed, no ETA other than "early 2024".

**=Aside from health/personal/travel reasons, maybe it's for a hobby. Getting something out of the activity (money, electric, usable mechanical energy) would be nice if it weren't a problem of cost/storage/loss/logistics etc.

EDIT: And I should say Bowling Alone is in force here too, but again money is probably a big part of that too.