Depression is hugely common in our society. The Mental Health Foundation believes that 1 in 4 people will experience some kind of mental health problem in the course of a year, with mixed anxiety and depression being the most common. It affects 1 in 5 older people living in the community and 2 in 5 in care homes (MHF). This means that a staggering amount of people are having to deal with its devastating fallout at home, work and in retirement each year.

However, evidence shows that a supervised programme of exercise can be as effective as antidepressants in treating mild or moderate depression (Mental Health Foundation/Mind). The link between exercise and mental wellbeing is a key part of recovery, and this user-friendly book is there to show the way.

As with all the titles in the Exercise Your Way to Health series, the book contains a series of well-illustrated exercises specifically designed to combat depression and its physical side effects. Taking into account the prevalence of depression and the well-documented link between exercise and mental health, this is a timely publication, and one that will help many people regain control of their lives.

Debbie Lawrence is the director of Fitness Wales and represents the home counties on the SkillsActive technical expert group. She has 30 years experience in the fitness industry as a tutor and assessor, and is also a qualified counsellor.

Jenny Burns is an occupational therapist for the NHS and delivers mental-health first-aid programmes endorsed by Mind.