Health Insurance Information :Researchers Continue To Study Link Between Depression And Weight Gain

Author: admin, July 2nd, 2011

For decades researchers have been studying the link between depression and the onset of weight gain. Although they have continually concluded there is a definite link between the two, it still isn’t apparent whether depression triggers weight gain or whether weight gain triggers

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For decades researchers have been studying the link between depression and the onset of weight gain. Although they have continually concluded there is a definite link between the two, it still isn’t apparent whether depression triggers weight gain or whether weight gain triggers depression.

Reviewing the data
A study that was recently published in the June issue of the American Journal of Public Health, researcher Belinda Needham, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, took a close look at the data gathered from more than 4,600 young adults who participated in a study called the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults. She specifically looked at information with regard to the participant’s body mass index, waist circumference, and depression symptoms at intervals of 5 years over a 20 year period.

Understanding the data
The data revealed that white participants who had started out with a higher level of symptoms related to depression experienced a faster rate of increase in their individual Body Mass Index (BMI), and both black and white participants showed a faster increase in their waist circumference. The study also revealed that the initial BMI and waist circumference did not have a bearing on the rate of change of symptoms relative to depression over time.

The findings
Though the findings point toward the conclusion that depression does indeed precede the onset of weight gain, Needham also pointed out that her research did not establish a cause-and-effect relationship between the two conditions, but rather that it was only a temporary one. She went on to say that it is quite possible there are other factors that may very well underlie the two conditions. That considered, it is still premature to say conclusively whether or not one causes the other.

photo credit: Photohunny

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Categories: Health Insurance Information Tags: Health Research