Lots of people hit the gym to shed unwanted pounds, but they don’t always see results on the scale. This week, we tackle the power of exercise and why you should bother. We speak with obesity expert Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, psychiatrist Dr. Gary Cooney, neuroscientist Prof. Wendy Suzuki and urologist Dr. Stacey Kenfield.

Check out the full transcript here: http://bit.ly/2kqreUR

UPDATE 10/31/19: An earlier version of this episode said that exercise isn’t a reliable treatment for depression. Some scientists reached out to us about clinical trials we missed. These newer trials found that exercise can help with depression. And we now think the research in this space is stronger than we made it sound. We’ve updated the episode.

Selected references:

The study which looked at the effect of exercising 5 days a week for a year on weight: http://bit.ly/2mitPR8

Gary's Cochrane review on the benefits of exercise for depression: http://bit.ly/2kqrGCx

The study which found that exercise is linked to a lower risk of getting dementia: http://bit.ly/2mj9qeL

Stacey's study on exercise and prostate cancer: http://bit.ly/2kuPwgu





Credits: This episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman, with help from Meryl Horn, Rose Rimler and Lexi Krupp. Our senior producer is Kaitlyn Sawrey. We’re edited by Caitlin Kenney and Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Diane Kelly. Mix and sound design by Peter Leonard. Music by Peter Leonard, Emma Munger and Bobby Lord. Recording assistance from Joel Cox, Andrea Rangecroft, Natalie Jones, and Mark Totti. A huge thanks to all the scientists we got in touch with for this episode, including Professor Virginia Berridge, Professor James Blumenthal, Professor Kirk Erickson, Dr. Tara Walker, Dr. Shannon Halloway, Professor Steven Petruzzello, Dr. Kristine Beaulieu, Dr. Aric Sudicky and many others! A special thanks to the Emmanuel Dzotsi, Zukerman family, and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.