Depression may spur weight gain
2006-03-07 13:38
New York - A history of anxiety disorders
or depression, particularly at a young age, may put women at
greater risk of obesity, researchers reported Monday.
In a study that followed 820 men and women from childhood
through young adulthood, investigators found that women with a
history of either depression or anxiety - or, in many cases,
both - tended to gain more weight over time.
When it came to depression, the earlier in life the
disorder arose, the greater the weight gain.
For example, a 30-year-old woman whose depression was first
recognised at the age of 14 weighed, on average, 10 to 15
pounds more than a similar woman without a history of
depression. The weight difference was smaller when depression
was diagnosed at the age of 18.
Anxiety disorders were associated with an extra 6 to 12
pounds by adulthood, regardless of the age at diagnosis.
In contrast, depression and anxiety disorders did not seem
to affect men's weight gain, the researchers found.
They report the findings in the March issue of the Archives
of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
Though the weight difference linked to depression and
anxiety was "not enormous," the extra pounds could lead to
obesity in some women, said lead study author Sarah E
Anderson, of the Friedman School of Nutrition at Tufts
University in Boston.
Treatment
Therefore, treating these disorders could help prevent
obesity in some females, she and her colleagues conclude in the
report.
Further research is still needed, they say, to confirm that
depression and anxiety are in fact causing the excess weight
gain.
But some past studies have already shown that this is
possible. For example, there's evidence, Anderson told Reuters
Health, that some people respond to depression by overeating.
And some of the same chemical messengers in the body, such
as serotonin, are involved in both mood regulation and
appetite, she noted. Depression is marked by lowered serotonin
levels, whereas food - particularly carbohydrates - can
temporarily boost those levels.
So some depressed individuals may essentially
"self-medicate" with food, Anderson explained.
One explanation for the gender difference, according to
Anderson, could be the fact that women are more likely than men
to have depression symptoms that can contribute to weight gain
- including increased appetite and excessive sleeping.
The researchers assessed the study participants four
different times between 1983, when they were 9 to 18 years old,
and 2003. Anxiety disorders and depression were diagnosed using
a standard interview.
At the beginning of the study, 27% of the girls had
an anxiety disorder, while 4% were diagnosed with
depression. By the last interview in adulthood, nearly half had
ever been diagnosed with anxiety, and one quarter had had
depression at some point.