Cited by 399Obesity, Physical Activity, DietEating Disorders and BehaviorsObesity and Health Practices

Obesity effects on depression: systematic review of epidemiological studies

Atlantis, E, Baker, M·2008·International Journal of Obesity

Abstract

Background Obesity is a well-known cause of cardiovascular disease burden and premature death, but effects on psychological morbidity remain uncertain. This article reports findings following a systematic review of epidemiological studies to determine whether obesity causes depression.Methods Multiple databases were searched for English-language studies of etiology of obesity (exposure variable, analyzed as an ordered category) on depression outcomes (dependent variables, continuous or categorical). Studies in children and in women during pregnancy or postpartum were excluded, as were nonrepresentative cross-sectional studies. Searches and identification of studies for inclusion were performed by EA, whereas a descriptive synthesis of important study characteristics was undertaken independently by us.Results We reviewed 24 out of approximately 4500 potentially relevant studies; 4 were prospective cohort studies and 20 were cross-sectional studies (10 from the United States). Effect measures reported in all prospective cohort studies were consistent and suggested that obesity may increase the odds of future depression outcomes (symptoms or nonclinical diagnosis of depression). Effect measures reported in most cross-sectional studies from the United States supported the hypothesized association between obesity and prevalence of depression outcomes for women but not men, in contrast most cross-sectional studies from populations other than the United States consistently failed to find such associations.Conclusions Overall, there is a weak level of evidence supporting the hypothesis that obesity increases the incidence of depression outcomes. Few high-quality prospective cohort studies exist, and cross-sectional studies account for the vast body of published evidence, and therefore firm conclusions for causality cannot yet be drawn. Our finding warrants additional high-quality etiological research on this topic.

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Crossref · 10.1038/ijo.2008.54

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Authors
Atlantis, E., & Baker, M.
Affiliations
The University of Sydney (AU)
Corresponding author
Atlantis, E
Venue
International Journal of Obesity
Published
2008-04-15
Volume
32
Issue
6
Pages
881-891
ISSN
  • 0307-0565 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-5497
OpenAlex
W2056014734
Cited by
399
References
70
Citations by year
2026: 11 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 20 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 25 · 2017: 29 · 2016: 39 · 2015: 26 · 2014: 32 · 2013: 25 · 2012: 26
FWCI
4.77
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • International Journal of Obesity (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research Bank (Australian Catholic University) (submittedVersion)
  • Adelaide Research & Scholarship (AR&S) (University of Adelaide) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Pharmacy › Obesity and Health Practices
Keywords
obesity, depression, psychological morbidity, depression incidence, sex differences, etiology of depression, cross-sectional study, prospective cohort
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Depressive Disorder, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Obesity, Self Concept, Severity of Illness Index, Sex Factors, Stress, Psychological, Prevalence, Epidemiologic Studies, Databases, Bibliographic

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