This is part 2 of a three-part series on exercise and mental health. Part 1 looked at how mental and physical health are connected, and part 3 looks at what an exercise physiologist can do.

Do you have concerns with any of the below? These avenues are available to support you and your health. You deserve it, you are wanted, you are loved, and we’re here to help.

General mental health, mental ill-health or mental illness: Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636 or beyondblue.org.au

Disordered eating or eating disorders: Butterfly National Helpline 1800 33 4673 or butterfly.org.au

Suicidal thoughts: Lifeline 13 11 14 or lifeline.org.au
If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 000.

So we’ve got the stats and the numbers. What’s the research telling us about the conditions themselves?

As per the 2026 consensus statement (Lederman et al., 2026), despite strong evidence for their impact on health outcomes, routine integration of exercise physiologists (EPs) into mental health systems remains limited. And yet:

• Physical activity is highly beneficial for improving symptoms of depression, anxiety and distress across a wide range of adult populations, including the general population, people with diagnosed mental health disorders, and people with chronic disease (Singh et al., 2023).
• Exercise reduces depression and anxiety symptoms in children and adolescents, where results suggest that structured exercise programs should be considered as part of comprehensive care approaches (Singh et al., 2026).
• Combinations of physical exercise and cognitive behavioural therapy appear feasible, and add-on physical exercise seems to be more beneficial for clinical populations when administered regularly several times per week, across several weeks (Frederiksen et al., 2021). Sounds like our national exercise guideline recommendations, no?
• Interventions that implement a sufficient dose of exercise, in supervised or group settings, can be feasible and effective interventions for schizophrenia treatment (Firth et al., 2015).
• In a 2018 cross-sectional study of over 1 million participants, individuals who exercised had fewer days of poor mental health over the past month than individuals who did not exercise, but were otherwise matched for several physical and sociodemographic characteristics. All exercise types were associated with a lower mental health burden than not exercising (Chekroud et al., 2018).
• In combination with a multidisciplinary team, resistance training has the potential to play an important role in improving psychopathology, quality of life, and body composition in patients with eating disorders. However, ongoing research is needed in this area before its inclusion in treatment can be confidently recommended (Bongiorno & Heaner, 2025).
• Engaging in regular exercise can help to reduce the risk of having a mental illness (Wilson-Evered & Maxwell, 2022).
• Studies found an average reduction in mental health symptom severity of 55% in patients who received exercise-based interventions compared to control groups (Deloitte Access Economics, 2026).
• Much of the research recommended exercise programs that are supervised by a professional to maximise the benefits on mental health. Fitness and exercise professions, therefore, have the opportunity to significantly influence the mental health of populations by using their expertise to implement safe, research-based exercise activities (Wilson-Evered & Maxwell, 2022).
• Findings from a 2023 scoping review showed that for individuals with anorexia nervosa, physical activity or exercise (PAE) improved physical fitness with no influence on body weight or body composition unless progressive resistance training was conducted. For individuals with bulimia nervosa, dysfunctional physical activity and exercise (DEx) was reduced simultaneously with increased functional exercise and successful implementation of physical activity recommendations during treatment. The authors note that experiences by individuals with eating disorders and clinicians, including accredited exercise physiologists, pointed to positive benefits by including PAE in treatment (Mathisen et al., 2023).

Exercise that is supervised by a professional appears to contribute to larger and more positive effects also (Wilson-Evered & Maxwell, 2022), so let’s promote more of that!

It goes without saying that exercise programs should be tailored to the individual and their physical and mental health needs. It may be worth looking into what method of exercise demonstrates the most clinically meaningful outcomes for differing mental health conditions, while making sure a client is willing to engage with it in the first place.

Read part 3: what an exercise physiologist can do for your mental health.

If you would like support to move more for your mental health, reach out. One of our exercise physiologists can work with you, alongside your GP and any other care you have. Get in touch with our team.

References

Bongiorno, V., & Heaner, M. (2025). Resistance training is an underused and promising tool in eating disorder recovery: A narrative review. Journal of Eating Disorders, 13(1), Article 123. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-025-01305-y

Chekroud, S. R., Gueorguieva, R., Zheutlin, A. B., Paulus, M., Krumholz, H. M., Krystal, J. H., & Chekroud, A. M. (2018). Association between physical exercise and mental health in 1.2 million individuals in the USA between 2011 and 2015: A cross-sectional study. The Lancet Psychiatry, 5(9), 739–746. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(18)30227-X

Deloitte Access Economics. (2026). Valuing the contribution of exercise physiologists in Australia: An economic perspective. Exercise & Sports Science Australia. https://www.essa.org.au/Common/Uploaded%20files/Reports/essa-economic-report-2026.pdf

Firth, J., Cotter, J., Elliott, R., French, P., & Yung, A. R. (2015). A systematic review and meta-analysis of exercise interventions in schizophrenia patients. Psychological Medicine, 45(7), 1343–1361. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291714003110

Frederiksen, K. P., Stavestrand, S. H., Venemyr, S. K., Sirevåg, K., & Hovland, A. (2021). Physical exercise as an add-on treatment to cognitive behavioural therapy for anxiety: A systematic review. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 49(5), 626–640. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1352465821000126

Lederman, O., Chapman, J., Fibbins, H., Haywood, D., Hart, N. H., Furzer, B., Wright, K., McKeon, G., Brinsley, J., Mastrogiovanni, C., Semaan, A., Llana, A., Stanton, R., & Rosenbaum, S. (2026). Role of exercise physiologists in mental health support and recovery: 2026 Exercise and Sports Science Australia (ESSA) consensus statement. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 60(8), 568–582. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2025-110879

Mathisen, T. F., Hay, P., & Bratland-Sanda, S. (2023). How to address physical activity and exercise during treatment from eating disorders: A scoping review. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 36(6), 427–437. https://doi.org/10.1097/YCO.0000000000000892

Singh, B., Olds, T., Curtis, R., Dumuid, D., Virgara, R., Watson, A., Szeto, K., O’Connor, E., Ferguson, T., Eglitis, E., Miatke, A., Simpson, C. E., & Maher, C. (2023). Effectiveness of physical activity interventions for improving depression, anxiety and distress: An overview of systematic reviews. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 57(18), 1203–1209. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2022-106195

Singh, B., Bennett, H., Miatke, A., Dumuid, D., Curtis, R., Ferguson, T., Brinsley, J., Szeto, K., Eglitis, E., Zhou, M., Simpson, C. E. M., Petersen, J. M., Firth, J., & Maher, C. A. (2026). Systematic umbrella review and meta-meta-analysis: Effectiveness of physical activity in improving depression and anxiety in children and adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 65(2), 171–186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2025.04.007

Wilson-Evered, E., & Maxwell, C. (2022). Brief literature review of the effects of exercise on mental illness. AUSactive. https://ausactive.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Effects-of-Exercise-on-Mental-Illness-Report.pdf