Abstract
BACKGROUND Changes in diet and exercise have been separately demonstrated to improve Depression, although scientific evidence available is scarce. In a previously published controlled study, just recommending these and other lifestyle measures (sleep restriction and sunlight exposure) in combination once, patients experienced improvements in their depressive symptoms six months later. In this sample, one in three depressive patients had metabolic syndrome (MetS) at baseline. First line treatment of MetS condition is hygienic-dietetic, being Mediterranean diet and exercise especially important. Therefore we analyzed if lifestyle recommendations also improved their metabolic profile. FINDINGS During the sixth month evaluation, a smaller number of patients from the group receiving hygienic-dietary recommendations met MetS criteria comparing with the control group. CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that costless lifestyle recommendations, such as exercise and Mediterranean diet, have the capacity to promote both mental and physical health in a significant proportion of depressive patients. Further research is needed to confirm or discard these preliminary findings.
