Wednesday, 28 July 2021, 9:05 am Exercise is hugely more important for people’s mental health since covid arrived 16 month ago, according to a major new ExerciseNZ survey. In 2018, just seven percent of the public surveyed by ExerciseNZ said they exercised for mental health. ExerciseNZ’s latest survey shows 63 percent of people are now exercising to help with their mental health. “This is really positive and is a greater awareness of why exercise helps on so many levels,” ExerciseNZ chief executive Richard Beddie says. “With stress, and mental health challenges at an all-time high, we need all the tools at our disposal that we can.