Exercise Can Greatly Benefit Teenagers’ Mental Health

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by MedicalXpress.

Recent studies have affirmed the importance of avoiding a sedentary lifestyle in improving mental health. These results can be grouped into four main conclusions:

1. Inactive adolescents experience greater symptoms of depression and anxiety. Young people who do not exercise regularly suffer by far the most from negative emotional symptoms (sadness, discouragement, nervousness, and worry). This is backed up by two recent studies of more than 10,000 adolescents in Spain. Regular movement not only strengthens the body but also protects the mind. It is estimated that active adolescents are 20–30% less likely to experience depressive symptoms compared to their sedentary peers.
2. The higher the level of physical activity and performance, the milder the symptoms. The positive impact of sport on mental health depends not only on doing sport, but also on its intensity and frequency. Inactive adolescents are up to four times more likely to suffer from moderate or severe depressive symptoms compared to high-performance athletes. The more active and structured an adolescent’s sporting lifestyle is, the greater the benefits for their mental health, especially if sport is a regular and motivating part of their daily life.
3. Teenage girls suffer more. Compared to boys, adolescent girls tend to experience more symptoms related to anxiety and depression, especially as adolescence progresses. This difference becomes more pronounced from the age of 14 or 15, coinciding with later stages of puberty development. Some studies show that adolescent girls are 50–70% more likely to have depressive symptoms than their male peers.
4. There are long-term benefits. Lastly, in addition to more immediate effects, a recent systematic review suggests that children who engage in leisure-time physical activity during childhood and adolescence may experience long-term health and behavioral benefits.

Source: MedicalXpress
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-07-greatly-benefit-teenagers-mental-health.html