Overweight and Unhappy
People who are overweight are at high risk for being depressed, according to researchers at Erasmus Medical Centre in the Netherlands. Overweight people were 55% more likely to battle depression, and depressed people were 58% more likely to become overweight in this study. In addition, the link between depression and obesity was more pronounced in Americans than in Europeans. The researchers speculate that obesity and depression might share an underlying factor of inflammation or that depression might interfere with the endocrine system that has a domino effect on weight gain. The researchers conclude that “this…could lead to prevention, early detection and co-treatment for the ones at risk, which could ultimately reduce the burden of both conditions.”
Luppino F, deWit, Bouvy P, et all: Overweight, obesity, and depression. Archives of General Psychiatry 2010;67:220-229.
