Negative body image, not depression, increases adolescent obesity risk

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-11/uoth-snb110615.php

Public Release: 9-Nov-2015
Study: Negative body image, not depression, increases adolescent obesity risk
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

Negative body image significantly increases the risk of obesity regardless of whether youth have depression, according to researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health.

"Our last study found that participants who were depressed were twice as likely to be obese six years later, implying a cause-and-effect relationship between depression and obesity. In this new study, when body image was introduced, we found no association between major depression and obesity, meaning that body image is the mediating factor," said Robert E. Roberts, Ph.D., first author and professor of health promotion and behavioral sciences at UTHealth School of Public Health San Antonio Regional Campus.

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According to the paper, previous research has indicated that negative body image is associated with greater psychological distress, more disordered eating, binge eating and fewer health-promoting behaviors such as physical activity and consumption of fruits and vegetables.

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