Moving beyond the weight-loss paradigm of exercise interventions for mental illness

We read with interest the recent correspondence by Carneiro et al. (2016) which presents a strong case for moving beyond the ‘weight loss paradigm’ of exercise interventions for people with depression. The authors present the argument, along with supporting evidence, that although ‘weight loss’ may often be advertised as the key benefit of exercise to encourage people towards physical activity, this is in fact rarely achieved from short-term exercise programs (Malhotra et al., 2015). Furthermore, as mentioned by the authors, recent meta-analyses and clinical trials have provided strong evidence that even in the absence of weight-loss, exercise can still significantly reduce symptoms of mental disorders such as depression and schizophrenia (Carneiro et al., 2015; Firth et al., 2015) - showing that weight loss is not a necessary outcome for the psychological benefits of exercise.