Combining exercise with conventional treatments for depression does not improve recovery, research suggests Wednesday. In the health authorities funded study - published in the British Medical Journal - some patients were given help to boost their activity levels in addition to receiving therapy or anti-depressants. After a year all 361 patients had fewer signs of depression, but there was no difference between the two groups. Current guidelines suggest sufferers do up to three exercise sessions a week. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) drew up that advice in 2004. At the time it said that on the basis of the research available, increased physical activity could help those with mild depression. The latest study, carried out by teams from the Universities of Bristol and Exeter, south west of England, looked at how that might actually work in a real clinical setting. All 361 people taking part were given conventional treatments appropriate to their level of depression. But for eight months some in a randomly allocated group were also given up advice on up to 13 separate occasions on how to increase their level of activity. It was up to individual patients what activity they chose to increase and by how much. This approach produced good results in terms of encouraging people to do more over a sustained period of time - something which could have benefits to their general physical health. But at the end of a year, researchers found no additional reduction in the symptoms of depression in the more active group.