Last Updated on June 20, 2026 by Staff
Nordic walking is a fitness activity that uses specially designed poles when you are walking. A lot of people think that poles are for trekking or hiking but Nordic walking is actually a full-body aerobic exercise. This activity started in Finland as a summer training method for country skiers. Over time it became popular around the world because of its physical and mental health benefits.
Nordic walking is different from walking because it uses the upper body along with the legs. This means that 90% of the body’s muscles are working when you are doing Nordic walking. This helps burn calories, improves cardiovascular fitness and gives you a more intensive workout. The best part is that Nordic walking is accessible to people of ages and fitness levels.
Depression Study
Some researchers wanted to find out if Nordic walking could also help with health, especially depression. To do this they did a study with 64 adults who had moderate to depression.
These people were not exercising regularly before the study started. They were divided into two groups. 48 People joined a walking program and 16 people did not do any structured exercise.
The study lasted for ten weeks. The goal was to see how depression symptoms changed over time.
Training Program
The people in the walking group walked with poles two times a week. Each time they walked for one hour with a trained instructor. The instructors made sure that the people were walking at an intensity.
The researchers used a tool to evaluate depression symptoms. This tool is called the Beck Depression Inventory-II. The people in the study used this tool before the program started, through and at the end of the ten weeks.
This helped the researchers see how quickly the people were getting better and if Nordic walking was really helping with health.
Rapid Improvement
The results were very good. The people who did walking had much better improvements in depression symptoms than the people who did not exercise.
One surprising thing was how fast the people got better. Most of the improvements happened in the five weeks. The people with depression got better faster than the people with moderate depression.
By the end of the ten weeks between 35% and 53.6% of the people were no longer depressed. This means that their depression symptoms are gone.
The researchers also said that nobody got hurt during the study. This shows that Nordic walking is safe and effective for people with depression.
Why It Matters
Depression is a common mental health problem. It affects millions of people every year. Depression can make it hard to do things that affect relationships, work, physical health and overall well-being. In cases it can even lead to suicidal thoughts.
While medication and therapy are important, many experts now think that exercise is also a tool. Other studies have shown that activities, like jogging, cycling, yoga and brisk walking can help. This new study shows that Nordic walking is also very effective.
The study found that people do not have to wait months to feel better. They can start feeling better in a few weeks.
The researchers think that these results could encourage people to support community-based exercise programs. Because Nordic walking is affordable and easy to learn it could be a tool to help people with depression.
The study says that regular physical activity, Nordic walking can really help with depression symptoms. It can help people have a life.