A larger BMI causes depression even in the absence of other health problems: Study

A new study found that obesity leads to depression. (Source: Photo File)

Although previous studies have already established a link between obesity and depression, in a study claiming to have found the strongest evidence on the link between the two, researchers have found that obesity causes depression even in the absence of other health problems.

The research was published in the International Journal of Epidemiology.

The team analyzed Biobank data from the UK from more than 48,000 people with depression and compared them with more than 290,000 controls in the UK Bihor cohort of people born between 1938 and 1971 who provided medical and genetic information . They used hospital admissions and self-reporting to determine if people had depression, "the Exeter University Web site said.

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The team has separated the psychological component of obesity from the impact of obesity-related health problems, using genes associated with higher BMI but with a lower risk of diseases such as diabetes. In an interesting question of the events, it was found that these genes were as strongly associated with depression as genes associated with higher BMI and diabetes, suggesting that a higher BMI causes depression, both with and without related problems of health.

It was found that this effect was stronger in women than in men. At the other ends of the BMI spectrum, very thin men are more prone to depression than normal-weight men and very thin women, "the study shows.

According to Professor Hypponen, director of the Australian Center for Precision for Health, who co-ordinated the study, "Our studies show that overweight can not only increase the risk of chronic diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disease, it can lead to depression."

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