Higher daily step counts linked to fewer mental health problems in early adolescence
Every extra walk to school, casual soccer game in the park or trip to the store could be doing more for teenage mental health than first thought, according to new research tracking thousands of adolescents in the U.S.
A new study tracking 5,515 U.S. adolescents has found that higher daily step counts are linked to fewer mental health problems in early adolescence. Researchers from King's College London and the University of Massachusetts Amherst analyzed data from the U.S. Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, where participants wore Fitbit devices for three weeks at ages 11 to 12.
A year later, the researchers assessed the adolescents' mental health using the Child Behavior Checklist, completed by the young people and their parents. The study revealed that teenagers who took fewer than 5,000 steps a day had the most mental health symptoms, while those averaging around 8,000 steps had fewer symptoms. Those who averaged 12,000 steps or more had the fewest symptoms.
The benefits did not plateau at any particular step count range. Additionally, adolescents with the highest step counts showed slightly thicker brain tissue in areas involved in movement and emotion regulation, which helped explain the link to better mental health. There was no association found between step count and academic performance.
Dr. Divyangana Rakesh, the senior author of the study, highlighted the significance of these findings, stating that even small increases in daily step counts, starting from any baseline, were associated with better brain structure and mental health outcomes. However, it is essential to note that this study is observational and cannot definitively prove causation.
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