During mental health awareness week, we consider what clinicians can do to help support mental health. Dr John Morgan, BASRaT Executive Committee Member and GP, recently presented on Mental Health: Using exercise to treat depression.

Many of us exercise simply to feel better, in a study by MIND, 83 per cent of respondents said they exercised to help lift their mood or reduce stress, while 70% of gym users with no mental health issues thought their mental wellbeing would suffer if they didn’t exercise.

The benefits of physical activity go far beyond this simple feel good factor: it’s now known that exercise has a significant and measurable impact on preventing and treating depression and other mental health issues.

The ethos of John’s clinical practice is that he works towards raising the profile of physical activity for the prevention, treatment and management of long-term conditions. The innovative model of 'Exercise on Prescription' at his Medical Centre has received national recognition, it incorporates a gym with cardiovascular equipment and an aerobics studio, available for use by his patients.

John is an Executive Committee Member of BASRaT.