A study led by Qingyang Li and Divyangana Rakesh from King’s College London, alongside Amanda Paluch from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, indicates that young teenagers who walk more tend to experience better mental health a year later. The research involved 5,515 children aged 11 and 12 across the United States as part of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, the largest long-term investigation of child health and brain development in the U.S.
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Researchers utilized Fitbits to track the daily steps of participants for three weeks, allowing for more accurate data than previous studies that relied on self-reported questionnaires. On average, the children took about 9,600 steps daily. A year later, they completed a mental health checklist assessing anxiety, low mood, behavior problems, and attention issues.
Every group of children who took more than 5,000 steps per day reported fewer mental health problems compared to those who walked less. The most active group, exceeding 12,000 steps a day, showed the best mental health outcomes. This suggests that, contrary to past findings that indicated a plateau in the health benefits of physical activity around 8,000 steps, the relationship between walking and mental health continues to improve without leveling off in young adolescents.
Rakesh noted that this study did not find the expected benefit plateau, even among the most active participants. Paluch emphasized that adolescents do not need to be elite athletes to reap mental health benefits from walking.
The study also examined brain scans, revealing that children with higher step counts had slightly thicker tissue in certain areas of the cortex, which is usually expected to thin during adolescence. This thickness was linked to better mental health outcomes, suggesting a potential connection between physical activity and brain development.
However, the study does not establish causation; it's possible that children who reported fewer mental health issues were simply more active. Additionally, no link was identified between the children's step counts and their school grades, suggesting that academic performance may depend on factors other than daily walking.
Despite these findings, most adolescents are not physically active enough. According to the World Health Organization, 81% of young people aged 11 to 17 do not meet activity guidelines. Paluch advocates for accessible, enjoyable activities that can help children increase their daily movement.
Future research is needed to determine whether increasing the activity levels of less active children can lead to improved mental health outcomes.