Scientific research finds that obesity can lead to depression

Obesity can lead to depression

New research published today by the University of South Australia and the University of Exeter in the UK found that obesity can lead to depression even in the absence of other health problems.

The study, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, shows that the psychological effects of overweight lead to depression rather than diabetes and other related diseases.

The researchers looked at the British Biobank data for more than 48,000 people with depression and compared it to a control group of more than 290,000 people born between 1938 and 1971, who provided medical and genetic information.

Hospital data and self-reports are used to determine if people have depression.

Elina Hypponen, director of the Australian Center for Precision Health and co-leading the study, said the team used a genomic approach.

"We separate the psychological components of obesity from the effects of obesity-related health problems, using genes associated with higher body mass index (BMI), but the risk of diabetes is lower," Professor Hypponen said.

"The association of these genes with depression is closely related to genes associated with high BMI and diabetes. This suggests that overweight can lead to depression, with or without health problems - especially women."

At the other end of the BMI spectrum, very thin men are more likely to suffer from depression, whether they are normal-weight men or very thin women.