Being overweight in childhood may heighten lifetime risk of depression
Those who are overweight during childhood are more likely to become depressed than those who are only overweight adults. New research presented at this year’s European Congress on Obesity suggests this. Research is a part of the international multidisciplinary consortium MooDFOOD.
The MooDFOOD project, Multi-national collaborative project on the role of diet, food-related behaviour, and obesity in the prevention of depression, has been in place since 2014 involving fourteen research group in nine European countries, including a group from the University of Iceland. The aim of the project is to increase understanding of whether, and how, different nutritional and lifestyle strategies are connected with obesity and depression.
Ingibjörg Gunanrsdóttir, professor of nutrition and director of the University of Iceland's Unit for Nutrition Research at the Landspítali University Hospital, who heads the study in Iceland. The study is, furthermore, conducted in close collaboration with the Icelandic Heart Association and data from both research that began in 1967, and AGES, an extensive study that tackles the link between genetics, lifestyle and environment on how people age, are used. Data gathered by the Unit for Nutrition Research's staff is also a part of the study.
Being overweight at age 13 linked with a four-fold chance of developing major depression
Previous studies have shown that people who are obese are more likely to become depressed. Few have looked at the influence of early-life obesity over the long term, or the age-related effect of obesity on depression risk. The study, presented at the European Congress on Obesity, was done by Deborah Gibson-Smith, a doctoral student at VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, in collaboration with the UI's Unit for Nutrition Research, but Deborah stayed in Iceland earlier this year.
The link between childhood obesity and depression later in life was studied in almost 900 individuals who had participated in the AGES study. Data on weight and height of participants in the AGES study at the ages of 13, 50 and 75 were examined, and whether they had ever been diagnosed with depression during their lifetime.
The analysis revealed that carrying excess weight in childhood is a stronger predictor of subsequent depression than being overweight in mid-life. The researchers estimate that being overweight at age 8 is linked with almost a fourfold chance of developing major depression at some point in their lives than those who were only overweight as adults. Furthermore, children who are overweight at age 13 have more than three times the risk of developing major depression than those who were only overweight as adults. The same applied for individuals who were overweight both as a child and as an adult.
The authors conclude that the findings suggest that some of the underlying mechanisms linking obesity to depression stem from childhood and need to be examined further. Given the rise in adolescents’ obesity and greater influence of social media on body image, understanding the associations between childhood obesity and depression is critical as both have a great impact on the quality of life.
Also, examine the connection between overall diet and risk of depression
In addition to presenting the findings at the conference, Deborah Gibson-Smith was invited to introduce another study at a press conference held in connection with it.
The people behind MooDFOOD in Iceland are in the process of concluding a study on the connection between the overall diet from adolescence to adulthood and the risk of depression. The results will be presented later this year. the Icelandic MooDFOOD group has previously published two scientific articles that indicate the risk of depression and symptoms of depression are increased if the amount of vitamin D and omega 3 fatty acids are low in the blood.
