Depression with a Side of Belly Fat
Who knew that being blue could lead to a larger jean size? According to a new study in the December issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, older adults with symptoms of depression appear more likely to gain abdominal fat, but not overall fat, over a five-year period.
Participants were screened for depression at the beginning of the study and their overall and abdominal obesity was recorded and the same process was done after five years. Measures of overall obesity included body mass index and body fat percentage, while abdominal obesity was assessed using waist circumference, sagittal diameter (distance between the back and the highest point of the abdomen) and visceral fat (fat between the internal organs).
At the beginning of the study, 4 percent of participants had depression and the percentage grew up to 15 percent at the study’s end. After adjusting for sociodemographic and other characteristics associated with weight changes, depression was associated with an increase in visceral fat over five years.
Researchers say there are several mechanisms by which depression might increase abdominal fat like chronic stress and depression, which may activate lead to increased levels of the hormone cortisol and leads to the accumulation of visceral fat.
