Change in depressive symptoms may predict change in BMI
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SAN DIEGO — For individuals, a change in depressive symptoms was associated with change in body weight, and the association was stronger for those with overweight or obesity than those with a normal BMI, according to study data.
“Our findings show that it is important to compare people to their own usual depressive symptom levels, rather than comparing them to other people,” Julia Mueller, PhD, research associate in the Prevention of Diabetes and Related Metabolic Disorders in High-Risk Groups in the MRC Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge, England, told Healio. “As such, weight management services could consider monitoring depressive symptom levels over time to detect individuals’ changes in depressive symptoms and, as a result, provide effective support as needed. This may improve how physically and mentally supportive the weight management service is.”
For this longitudinal study, researchers collected data monthly on mental health and body weight from August 2020 to April 2021 for 2,133 U.K. adults from a population-based. Using random intercepts regression models, researchers assessed associations of depression, anxiety and stress with weight.
In a subgroup analyses, Mueller and colleagues examined whether the relationship between mental health and weight differed depending on age, sex, BMI, education and occupation.
Change in depressive symptoms was associated with body weight change. Within-individual change in depressive symptoms was associated with subsequent weight with each unit of depression severity associated with a change in weight by 0.045 kg.
“This means that, for example, an increase in depressive symptoms by 5 units is associated with higher weight by 0.23kg,” Mueller said.
In the subgroup analyses, researchers observed a dose-dependent effect of baseline BMI on this association. For participants with a BMI less than 25kg/m2, there was no association between depressive symptoms and weight, but for those with overweight or obesity, there was an association. This association was stronger for people with obesity (0.071 kg weight per unit of depression severity) than for those with overweight (0.052 kg weight per unit of depression severity). This suggests that, the higher the BMI at baseline, the stronger the association between depressive symptoms and body weight, Mueller said.
There was no evidence of reverse causality in this study. Stress and anxiety were not associated with body weight.
According to Mueller, even small changes in depressive symptoms may be predictive of weight increases, regardless of whether people meet the definition for clinical depression or not.
“We need more research into the development and evaluation of interventions that incorporate psychological support into weight management,” Mueller said. “In particular, we need research on interventions that monitor people’s depressive symptoms over time and intervene when needed to ensure effective support is provided to prevent further weight gain.”
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Mueller J, et al. O-103. Presented at: ObesityWeek; Nov. 1-4, 2022; San Diego.
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