High BMI causes depression – and both physical and social factors play a role

[Northerner]

A largescale new study provides further evidence that being overweight causes depression and lowers wellbeing and indicates both social and physical factors may play a role in the effect.

With one in four adults estimated to be obese in the UK, and growing numbers of children affected, obesity is a global health challenge. While the dangers of being obese on physical health is well known, researchers are now discovering that being overweight can also have a significant impact on mental health.

The new study, published in Human Molecular Genetics, sought to investigate why a body of evidence now indicates that higher BMI causes depression. The team used genetic analysis, known as Mendelian Randomisation, to examine whether the causal link is the result of psychosocial pathways, such as societal influences and social stigma, or physical pathways, such as metabolic conditions linked to higher BMI. Such conditions include high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

High BMI causes depression – and both physical and social factors play a role

A largescale new study provides further evidence that being overweight causes depression and lowers wellbeing and indicates both social and physical factors may play a role in the effect. With one in four adults estimated to be obese in the UK, and growing numbers of children affected, obesity...

www.sciencedaily.com

 

[mikeyB]

Again we get a number 1 in 4. Where did they get this estimate from?

We live in an apartment block of 19 apartments populated by over 55s. It is serviced by gas and electric engineers, window cleaners and gardeners. Not one of them are obese. I go down into the village. I don’t see obese people. (That’s around 3000 population) I don’t bump into fat people or struggle to get past them in my wheelchair. When you see crowds at the beach, football or shows, you don’t see a quarter of the crowd obese.

Where are they all hiding? We aren’t talking about folk who are so fat they can’t leave their bed.

And all this study shows that if you obese you are more likely to depressed. It does not address which came first or whether it worsened the obesity.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

Again we get a number 1 in 4. Where did they get this estimate from?

From things like https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/health-survey-for-england/2018 I think.

Which details the methods they used. Basically a random survey followed by in person checks. Doesn't look like there's anything obviously wrong with it to me, though I agree it's surprising. I also don't think I'm seeing 1 in 4 people as being obese though I can believe over half of people are overweight (since I am, slightly). Maybe we're just not recognising obesity when we see it?

 

[Bruce Stephens]

I also don't think I'm seeing 1 in 4 people as being obese though I can believe over half of people are overweight (since I am, slightly). Maybe we're just not recognising obesity when we see it?

I'm admittedly not seeing anything close to a representative sample of UK residents (living a few minutes away from a Royal Park in south west London). Maybe it's just that?

 

[Leadinglights]

It is the perception of who people consider obese, probably the many people we see out and about, you would not classify as obese or even overweight but clinically many are, so would be part of that statistic.

 

[Vonny]

Where I live it is likely that the percentage of obese people is closer to 70%, many of whom are youngish people on mobility scooters. It's one of the many reasons I didn't do anything about my weight before diagnosis because I was relatively thin in comparison with the majority of the demographic. There is also massive unemployment... we are talking about 3rd generation unemployed here as it is an ex-mining town. I'm from "oop North" to put this into perspective. Southerners may be astonished to walk around my town!

 

[mikeyB]

Maybe because I don’t live far enough OopNorth, but I still don’t believe 1 in 4 are overweight or obese. I’ve yet to see a fat person on a mobility scooter round here.

When we lived on the Isle of Mull, I didn’t see anyone overweight in the off season, and I knew most of the locals, either from the ferries to and from Oban, nor latterly see hardly any obese or significantly overweight folk in or around hospitals in Oban, Alexandria, Paisley, West Glasgow and The Deathstar in Glasgow. They must all have been hiding.

When I was a lad, being thin was a flag that you were poor, and couldn’t afford to eat. Anybody overweight had money. And that has persisted. When I was a magistrate in youth courts, nearly all the miscreants aged from 12-16 were skinny, short for their age; their parent(s) couldn’t afford to feed them even calorific rubbish, let alone over feed them. I’m sure this is reflected in towns and cities around the UK.

So I still don’t believe the 1 in 4 overweight or obese, unless your survey area is the House of Lords.