15 Nov Research: Obesity Causes Depression

The research, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, shows that the psychological impact of being overweight causes depression, rather than associated illnesses such as diabetes.⠀
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Researchers looked at UK Biobank data from more than 48,000 people with depression, comparing them with a control group of more than 290,000 people born between 1938 and 1971, who provided medical and genetic information.⠀
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Hospital data and self-reporting were used to determine whether people had depression.⠀
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“We separated the psychological component of obesity from the impact of obesity-related health problems using genes associated with higher body mass index (BMI), but with lower risk of diseases like diabetes,” UniSA Professor Elina Hypponen says.⠀
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“Our research shows that being overweight doesn’t just increase the risks of chronic diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disease; it can also lead to depression,” Prof Hypponen says.⠀

Source: ScienceDirect