Obesity, food insecurity, and depression among females

Abstract

Background Nutritional psychiatry is an emerging field of research and it is currently exploring the impact of nutrition and obesity on brain function and mental illness. Prior studies links between obesity, nutrition and depression among women. However, less is known how food insecurity may moderate that relationship. Methods Data were employed from the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys (CPES), 2001–2003. Two logistic regression models were Logistic regression was used to determine the association between obesity, gender, food insecurity, and past year Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). We then stratified by gender, and tested the association between obesity and past year MDD, and if food insecurity moderated the association. Results Obesity was associated with an increased risk for past year Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) among females (AOR = 1.35; 95% CI 1.17–1.55) and was not associated among males (AOR = 1.07; 95% CI, 0.86–1.32). Women who reported that reported both obesity and food insecurity reported higher odds of past year MDD episode (AOR = 3.16; 95% CI, 2.36–4.21, than women who did not report food insecurity (AOR = 1.08; 95% CI, 1.02–1.38). Conclusion With rising rates of mental health problems, females should be closely monitored to understand how poor diets, food insecurity, and obesity play a role in mental health outcomes. It is recommended that clinicians and treatment providers consider the patient’s diet and access to nutritious foods when conducting their assessment.

Self-esteem and mental health among obese and non-obese people

“…It revealed greater frequency of them in obese have average and below average level of mental health, while non-obese have more frequency in average and above average level of mental health. This finding is supported in line with previous studies as mental health issues such as anxiety, depression and stress have positive relationship with obesity(AlQahtani et al 2015), obese patient have greater chances for depression(Reynolds et al 2018), mental health of obese people acted as strongest predictor for perceived physical health(Knoesen et al 2010), and obesity was highly associated with depressive disorder especially in women(Ahuja et al 2020).…”

Childhood migration experience and adult health: evidence from China’s rural migrants

“…From the gender perspective, CME could more dramatically improve rural women’s adult health than men, especially in mental health. Some studies have shown that women are worse than men on most health indicators [ 46 , 64 ]. Fortunately, the childhood migration of China’s rural population is more favorable to women, promoting health equality at the gender level.…”

Association of Dietary Inflammatory Index With Depression and Suicidal Ideation in Older Adult: Results From the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys 2005–2018

“…Another study ( 22 ) of residential female undergraduates discovered that higher DII was significantly associated with an increased likelihood of stress symptoms (OR = 1.41, 95% CI: 1.12–1.77; P = 0.003) and anxiety symptoms (OR = 1.35, 95% CI: 1.07–1.69; P = 0.01). The relationship between dietary patterns and depression remains significant, and strong epidemiological evidence proposes that poor diet may hurt mental health disorders ( 23 ). However, after adjusting for marriage, education, and family poverty to income ratios, the significance of DII concerning the risk of suicide in older patients decreased significantly.…”