Depression Can Lead to Weight Gain

A study published this month in the American Journal of Public Health gives more evidence that depression can lead to more weight gain. There have been several reports showing the connection from a stress hormone called cortisol to both depression and stomach fat. This study aimed to see if the depression was causing the abdominal weight gain and the results indicate that’s the case.

The study was conducted by Belinda Needham, assistant Professor of Sociology with the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Needham analyzed data gathered from the CARDIA (Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults) study which had followed a group of more than 5,000 people from the age of 18 up to the time they were 30. She wanted to see if BMI (body mass index) and waist measurements correlated to a rise in depression or if the depression led to the weight gain – kind of a which came first, the chicken or the egg.

Said Needham of the results, “We found that in a sample of young adults during a 15-year period, those who started out reporting high levels of depression gained weight at a faster rate than others in the study, but starting out overweight did not lead to changes in depression.”

“Looking at the CARDIA sample data, we found that everyone, as a whole, gained weight during the 15-year period of time that we examined,” she continued. “However, the people who started out reporting high levels of depression increased in abdominal obesity and BMI at a faster rate than those who reported fewer symptoms of depression at year five. In year five, the waist circumference of the high-depression group was about 1.6 centimeters greater than those who reported low depression. By year 20, the waist circumference of the high-depression group was about 2.6 centimeters higher than those who reported lower levels of depression.”

“In contrast, a high initial BMI and waist circumference did not influence the rate of change in symptoms of depression over time,” she added.

The analysis supported the theory that those who are depressed have elevated cortisol levels which lead to weight gain in the abdominal area. This information leads to the conclusion that in at least some cases, treating depression is the way to help some with obesity issues.