Objective-Obesity is related to increased risk of several health complications, including depression. Many studies have reported improvements in mood with weight loss, but results have been equivocal. The present meta-analysis examined changes in symptoms of depression that were reported in trials of weight loss interventions. Between-groups comparisons of different weight loss methods (e.g., lifestyle modification, diet alone, pharmacotherapy) were examined, as were within-group changes for each treatment type.Method-MEDLINE was searched for articles published between 1950 and January 2009. Several obesity-related terms were intersected with terms related to depression. Results were filtered to return only studies of human subjects, published in English.Of 5971 articles, 394 were randomized controlled trials. Articles were excluded if they did not report mean changes in weight or symptoms of depression, included children or persons with psychiatric disorders (other than depression), or provided insufficient data for analysis. Thirty-one studies (n = 7937) were included. Two authors independently extracted a description of each study treatment, sample characteristics, assessment methods, and changes in weight and symptoms of depression. Treatments were categorized as: lifestyle modification, non-dieting, dietary counseling, diet-alone, exercise-alone, pharmacotherapy, placebo, or control interventions.Results-Random effects models found that lifestyle modification was superior to control and non-dieting interventions for reducing symptoms of depression, and marginally better than dietary counseling and exercise-alone programs. Exercise-alone programs were superior to controls. No differences were found for comparisons of pharmacologic agents and placebos. Within-group analyses found significant reductions in symptoms of depression for nearly all active Conflicts of InterestFabricatore has served as a consultant for Pfizer, Merck, and Ethicon-Endosurgery, and has received research support (including funding for this study) from Merck. Although he is now employed by Nutrisystem, Inc., Fabricatore was employed full-time at the University of Pennsylvania (where he retains an adjunct appointment) at the time the study was completed. Wadden serves on the Advisory Boards of Novo Nordisk and Orexigen and has received research support from Orexigen and Pfizer. Nguyen is employed by Merck and Heymsfield was employed by Merck at the time the work was completed. Faith has served as a consultant to, and has received research support from, Merck. The other authors have no potential conflicts to declare. NIH Public AccessAuthor Manuscript Int J Obes (Lond). Author manuscript; available in PMC 2012 May 1. Conclusions-On average, obese individuals in weight loss trials experienced reductions in symptoms of depression. Future studies should examine incidence and resolution of clinically significant depressive disorders with weight loss interventions.

Objective Predicting outcome in weight loss trials from baseline characteristics has proved difficult. Readiness to change is typically measured by self-report. Design and Methods We assessed performance of a behavioral task, completion of food records, from the screening period in the Look AHEAD study (n = 549 at 4 clinical centers). Completeness of records was measured by the number of words and Arabic numerals (numbers) recorded per day, the number of eating episodes per day, and days per week where physical activity was noted. The primary outcome was weight loss at one year. Results In univariable analysis, both the number of words recorded and the number of numbers recorded were associated with greater weight loss. In multivariable analysis, individuals who recorded 20–26, 27–33, and ≥34 words per day lost 9.12%, 11.40%, and 12.08% of initial weight, compared to 8.98% for individuals who recorded less than 20 words per day (p values of 0.87, 0.008, and <0.001, respectively, compared to <20 words per day). Conclusions Participants who kept more detailed food records at screening lost more weight after 1 year than individuals who kept sparser records. The use of objective behavioral screening tools may improve the assessment of weight loss readiness.