Depression, anxiety leads to weight problems

William Atkins
Saturday, 10 October 2009 18:55

Science - Health

The conclusion of the study found that people with common mental health disorders (at the first three screenings) were twice as likely to be obese (at the fourth and final screening) when compared to people with no symptoms of mental health disorders (at the first three screenings).

In addition, the researchers found that the more incidences of common mental health problems that were found in people, the greater chance they had to gain weight and to become obese.

The abstract of the researchers’ paper states, “These findings suggest that in British adults the direction of association between common mental disorders and obesity is from common mental disorder to increased future risk of obesity. This association is cumulative such that people with chronic or repeat episodes of common mental disorder are particularly at risk of weight gain.” [BMJ]

Dr. Mika Kivimäki is a professor of social epidemiology (Deparment of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London) and one of the researchers in the study.

Kivimäki stated, “We started with people who were not obese. The more times mental health symptoms were reported, the greater the risk for becoming obese by the end of the study. This points to a dose-response association between mental disorders and weight gain.” [MedGuru (10-9-09): "Study links mental disorders to obesity”]

However, the study did not find any relationship with first being obese (and without any pre-existing mental health problems) and then acquiring common mental health disorders.

Previous studies have researched the link between obesity and medical problems, such as depression. For more information, please read the article "Obesity and Depression: Carrying the weight of the world" by Dr. Keecha Harris (MSN Health and Fitness).