Obesity not only harms physical health, but also has a negative impact on well-being and mental health. If the body mass index (BMI) is too high, the risk of depression also increases.
In a new study, experts at University College Cork in Ireland examined how obesity affects psychological well-being and the risk of depression. The results can be read in the English-language specialist magazine “PLoS ONE”.
Obesity and psychological problems linked?
Both obesity and mental illness are significant health problems worldwide. They could be indirectly related through various lifestyle factors and physical factors or could also directly influence each other.
The team now examined whether obesity has an impact on psychological well-being in a cross-sectional study with a total of 1,821 people aged 46 to 73 years. Using a special scale, the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and the World Health Organization-Five (WHO-5) Well-Being Index, the researchers determined well-being and any depression that may be present.
Next, the experts conducted a so-called linear regression analysis to analyze the relationships between mental health scores and obesity, where obesity was defined using body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-height ratio.
Furthermore, the experts took into account not only demographic characteristics, but also lifestyle factors and existing illnesses.
Impaired psychological well-being
The team found that body mass index and waist-to-height ratio had a significant positive correlation with depression scores and a significant inverse correlation with well-being scores in men and women.
The observed connection between BMI and depression remained even after adjusting for demographic variables and lifestyle factors, the researchers added.
Even in the final models in which disease conditions were adjusted, the associations between body mass index and waist-to-height ratio and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale score remained significant, the experts said
Women are particularly affected
It also turned out that the connection between body mass index and depression was stronger in women than in men, the researchers report in a press release.
The results suggest that people with obesity have a significantly increased risk of poorer mental health – regardless of lifestyle factors and existing medical conditions.
The treatment of depression may therefore in the future also include interventions for existing weight problems, particularly in women, as the association between obesity appears to be more pronounced in them. (as)
