The Effect of Vitamin D supplement and Indoor Vs Outdoor Physical Activity on Depression of Obese Depressed Women

Since the rate of depression and Vitamin D deficiency has been reported in Iranian obese women, it needs to be considered seriously by researchers. Therefore, the aim of this research was to investigate the effect of vitamin D supplement (VD) and indoor physical activity (IPA) vs outdoor physical activity (OPA) on the depression of obese depressed women.
This was a prospective study with 75 women (mean age: 43.5 ± 12.8 years, with body mass index (BMI) ranging from 30.0 to 35.0 kg/m2). They were randomly assigned into four experimental groups who either did indoor or outdoor physical activity with or without Vitamin D. Depressive symptoms were assessed with the Beck depression inventory. The intervention group (indoor and outdoor physical activity with vitamin D) was administered a 2,000 IU Vitamin D per day for 12 weeks. The training program included warming-up, main protocol (treadmill versus outdoor jogging) and cooling-down four times a week for 3 months.
The results indicated that the level of depression in OPA VD group was improved from severe (33.26 ± 2.12) to mild (16.73 ± 1.38) suggesting 50% improvement in depression score (P = 0.001) and there was, also, a significant improvement in the depression level of IPA, OPA, and IPA groups from sever to moderate level in depression scores (P = 0.001).
Both vitamin D and exercise (especially outdoor) have positive effects on depressive symptoms of depressed obese women. As a result, promotion of an active outdoor lifestyle and having sufficient Vitamin can counteract vitamin D deficiency and the rate of depression in this vulnerable population.