Are obese adolescents more depressed?

Obesity is a growing problem in all countries which leads to various physical, psychological, and social problems. The present study aimed to assess depression in children and adolescents aged 10-18-year old compared with the control group.

In a case-control study, from among the 10- to 18-year-old students of the five education districts of Isfahan, 100 people (50 girls and 50 boys) were selected as obese children with the Body Mass Index (BMI) of greater than 95 th percentile for their age and gender and 100 others (50 girls and 50 boys) as the control group with the BMI of 5 th to 85 th percentile. The case and control groups were matched for age, gender, and socio-economic status. After calculating BMI based on weight (kg)/height 2 (meter), subjects were interviewed based on DSM IV criteria to diagnose clinical depression. The severity of children's depression was measured using standardized questionnaire.

The mean age of the case group was 12.2 ± 1.86-years old and that of the control group 13.06 ± 2.25. They were, respectively, diagnosed with depression of 7% and 6%. The mean depression score of the case group was 11.7 ± 5.3 and that of the control group was 10.6 ± 6.03 with no statistical significance.

Given our findings, the Jolly fat hypothesis applies to the case group. It seems that health policy-makers need to make intervention plans to change behavior; attitude, skill, and knowledge (BASK) of the public toward obesity and its long-term side-effects.