The benefits of exercise are obvious, but can overexercising be a sign of depression or suicidal inclinations in young women?
A survey of some 4,700 undergraduates from 137 universities revealed that women who engage in vigorous physical activity at least six times a week are 1.5 times more likely to exhibit suicidal behavior than their less-active female counterparts. Conversely, men who did not participate in sports were 2.5 times more likely to attempt suicide.
"College women use physical activity to reduce stress or to deal with problems that could benefit from intervention," says David Brown, Ph.D., of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Brown co-authored the study, which was published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.
