Learn why gaining weight causes depression. Learn how to avoid weight gain and stop depression and anxiety.

2. Weight Changes Effect More Than How You Look
Look, we will probably all have to admit that it is not easy losing weight, period. Even if
you are happy and you are on a diet and you are exercising, it’s not easy to lose the
pounds and keep them off in the long run. It can sometimes even feel like it is impossible!
But when you are already suffering from depression, it’s doubly hard to do! This is
because depression can actually increase your appetite. And when you eat too much, you
may feel guilt, that guilt makes you more unhappy with yourself, leading to increased
depressive feelings– it’s a vicious cycle!
When you are obese, the rates of depression are usually higher than those people who
are of normal weight. Right now, in 2019, the rates of being both obese and depressed
at the same time are increasing rapidly. There is a correlation between weight and mood
– though no statistically relevant causal relationship. Depression and anxiety are global
health issues today, costing the global economies of the world trillions and trillions of
dollars each year.

3. Even though studies from the past show that depression shows up in individuals who are
overweight or obese, other studies have not yet been able to demonstrate whether
obesity causes depression. The reason for this is that there are just too many other factors
to consider.
Obesity is a risk factor for several other conditions. Therefore, it might be that while you
are dealing with certain health issues, it can increase the likelihood of you becoming
depressed, rather than the actual obesity being the cause. There are some researchers
who claim that it is depression that is a major cause and risk of being obese, whilst others
believe that the two just exacerbate each other.
For instance, obesity might make the onset of depression occur initially but once the
depression symptoms do start, it might
compound the obesity because it makes it
more difficult for someone to exercise and
focus on becoming healthy. In addition,
many may feel they need to eat food simply
because it is a certain time of day or they
feel slightly hungry. One way to reduce
feeling hungry is raspberry ketone. This
is a natural ingredient that helps an
individual to feel less hungry or not hungry
at all.
Depression causes weight gain – or does weight gain cause depression?
❖ In order for us to get a better understanding of this really complicated relationship,
British Researchers collaborated with Australian Scientists researchers to study factors
that impacts instances of simultaneous depression and obesity. Their results were

4. published in the International Journal of Epidemiology. They figured, “We've long
known there's a link between the two, yet it's unclear whether obesity causes
depression or vice versa, and also whether it's being overweight in itself or the
associated health problems that can cause depression."
❖ Researchers want to figure out if when people have a higher body mass index (BMI),
there is increased risk of depression without other health conditions being present.
They decided to use medical data and genetic data from thousands of people with
depression; actually making it the biggest study ever to address this question. As
expected, they discovered that a higher BMI was associated with higher odds of being
depressed, with the association being stronger in women than in men; women with
high BMI had a 21% increase in risk, whereas men with high BMI had an 8% increase
in risk.
❖ The researchers were able to separate the psychological component of obesity in the
men and women by investigating them with the genes which predisposed them to
obesity but without the ones that predisposed them to other metabolic conditions such
as diabetes, which is referred to as a "favorable metabolic profile".

5. They found many factors that could influence the results such as alcohol and smoking,
socio-economic demographics and levels of physical activity. It was found that those
people who had the favorable metabolic profiles, as mentioned above, were just as
likely to develop depression as those with obesity, who carried genes predisposing
them to develop metabolic conditions- which are more pronounced in women. After
double-checking their findings, they concluded – “Our robust genetic analysis
concludes that the psychological impact of being obese is likely to cause depression."
❖ They believed this was important in targeting their efforts to try and reduce
depression, which makes it harder for people to try and work at healthy lifestyle
habits.
❖ Still, in saying that, the relationship between being overweight and depression is still
rather convoluted, and certainly complicated. There are still questions which remain.
There is still further research required to explore depression, obesity, and BMI. And
it’s because both obesity and depression have profound effects on people and society
at large.
So we come to the present with the two health issues – depression and being
overweight

6. Both present big challenges for people. There are obesity specialists who say that mood
disorders and depression need to be addressed first before you do battle with the scale.
One obesity specialist, Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, from Canada, says that when you set out
intentionally to lose weight whilst you have poorly managed depression, it’s like starting
off a marathon with a badly sprained ankle. His advice to people, he says, is
straightforward - if you are suffering from depression, you are better off treating your
mood and depression first before you consider your weight problems. There have been
many researchers who support Freedhoff's position. From the Alabama University,
researchers found that young people with high levels of depression at the start of a study
gained the most weight over the next 15 years. Those who started off the study being
overweight showed no dramatic changes in depression – this all suggesting that
depression has a bigger effect on weight than weight does on depression.
More research out of the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that even
though there are seven out of ten American adults who are obese, fewer of these today

7. are even trying to lose weight; lots of them have already thrown in the towel. This could
be in part, because they are depressed.
A huge symptom of major depressive disorder is hopelessness because the longer adults
live with their obesity, the less they might be willing to try and lose weight, particularly if
they have tried a few times and have not been successful. Also, dieting has the ability to
put people in a low mood in any case. So that comes back to the question – what are
you supposed to do if you are overweight but depressed at the same time?
Dr. Yoni Freedhoff from Canada is right when he says people should try to get their mood
and depression dealt with first before they tackle their weight.

8. Look how Krista managed to deal with depression and being overweight
Look at Krista Smart’s situation for instance. She tells her story and you can read it here.
She was involved in a relationship which ended and she found herself sinking deeper and
deeper into depression.
o She had come to the conclusion that she just had to do something about it and decided
to heal her mind first – but at the same time, she decided to strengthen her body as
well. She says that she had never worried too much about her weight and she and
her boyfriend participated in many fun activities which kept them feeling fit and
healthy such as biking, hiking, golf, and walking. She says that she always felt good
after her exercises.
o But her relationship with her boyfriend soured off and to comfort herself, she started
eating.
o Then in 1998, she completed her master's degree to become a learning-disabilities
specialist and she and her boyfriend even started talking about marriage. But that
didn’t stop the daily bickering over petty things and after 16 years of being together,
she realized that somewhere along the line, the two of them had fallen out of love.
She started becoming depressed about this and stopped taking good care of herself.
She said that all she did was sit around snacking, eating nachos, chips and other salty
foods she longed for.
o When her boyfriend did come home in-between jobs, they didn’t spend much time
together and still bickered; no longer preparing healthy food together. She says she
could feel the pounds piling on. The more weight she put on, the more uncomfortable
she felt, and the relationship suffered even more.

9. o In 2003, she caught sight of herself whilst on holiday in Hawaii and was horrified that
she had reached a size 16! Right then and there she started seeing a therapist who
diagnosed her with situational depression. The therapist told her that before she could
rebuild her relationship, she had to first start feeling good about herself.
o Her mother suggested she join a local gym and on her consultation where they weigh
you, she weighed in at 179 pounds! Nevertheless, she was excited to start healing
herself. She enjoyed the workouts which helped to clear her head, releasing all the
stress and sadness. She noticed that the exercises were improving her outlook and
she went ahead and set a weight loss goal to get down to her original weight of 135
pounds.
o Her nutritionist told her about the weight loss benefits of raspberries as a supplement.
She learned about raspberry ketones and how they suppress appetite. In
addition, the daily exercising and watch what she ate, Krista took raspberry ketone
capsules daily.
o At that time, she and her boyfriend broke up and she felt she was getting sucked into
an abyss of depression.

10. You can be a winner too!
o Krista had to make a decision. Either she allowed herself to sink into the abyss or she
could continue towards her goal. She says that she felt empowered to take charge.
She changed her mindset which meant she felt in charge to start going back to her
old health heating habits, stocking up on lots of fruit and veggies, enjoying no-added
sugar dried cherries with her yogurt and granola.
o At lunchtime, she would eat a sandwich or a salad. For her evening meal, she chose
protein with veggies and rice. She lost a half-pound to one pound a week over a
period of about 8 months, receiving plenty of support from her friends – this boosted
her self-confidence tremendously.
o Then she started walking on Sunday mornings too. She and her two friends set a goal
to walk a half-marathon the next spring. She did just that, and on marathon day, she
says she felt like she was in the best shape of her life! And of course, she completed

11. her marathon in less than three hours! To help reduce pain in her muscles and joints,
Krista starting drinking anti-oxidant rich tart cherry juice daily.
o After that, she continued with her power walking and by the time summer rolled
around in 2005, she was down to 140 pounds and feeling on top of the world. She
said she was back to being who she was both physically and mentally, with energy
that was bursting and a renewed passion for life.
o This new energy and vigor made her decide to host her own birthday party. She
decided to title it, "New style, New Body, new Woman." She says for the first time
ever she felt really independent, and it was something to celebrate.
o Now, she says, she is living life to the fullest, having maintained her weight loss for
three years. She says she still does power walking and also goes to the gym 4 times
a week and she makes sure that she doesn’t over-indulge too often. She and her two
walking friends have embarked on many other exciting adventurous activities which
she says she would never have been able to do if she were still at the 179 pounds.

12. o One of her follow-up goals was to walk a full marathon.
o Five years ago, she feared she would never be able to pull her life together; to be
normal and now she just loves life again. She is looking forward to walking through
the next door of opportunity.
What did Krista learn in all this that others who are depressed and overweight can learn
as well?
✔Achieve your goal by doing what you love: When you participate like Krista did,
walking with friends, it doesn’t make the activity or workouts feel like such a chore,
but just a lot of fun – you are socializing and burning calories at the same time.
✔Reward yourself. It is most edifying to give yourself a reward for your
achievements, like maybe a new dress – just look at the big reward Krista gave
herself; throwing a big birthday party, letting all her friends see her wonderful
achievements and her new body and positive attitude. She had pulled herself through
tough times and brought her depressed state and her bodyweight problem to a good
place and that made her feel awesome!
✔Learn to keep all the junk stuff away: Krista loved keeping all her favorite junk
foods nearby. She would stock up on these things at the grocery store. If you notice
these things in your cupboard, it’s hard to resist. You might even say, “Just this time,''
especially when the cravings start. Rather keep them out of your home because it
won’t be the easiest thing for you to want to go get in your car and seek out the
processed, unhealthy stuff.
✔Set a goal: Once Krista and her friends had signed up for the marathon, it meant
getting serious about the Sunday walking. They paid their money in to register, and
now they “had” to do it and do it well. It was that incentive that motivated them to
keep at it.

13. ✔Give yourself a break: When Krista goes to her monthly sports bar with her friends
to watch games; she doesn’t ban herself from enjoying the time spent with her
friends; indulging in her special chicken wings while she watches the games. But that’s
just one time where she allows herself to splurge because she knows that once you
start overdoing it a lot, a lot of damage sets in straight away.
✔Not only your body but give your mood a workout too! Remember the rush
that Krista felt after her workouts? Well, it was these that played a big role in pulling
her out of her depressed state. We have seen time and time again from studies that
exercise has the ability to reduce symptoms of depression by 47%. Dr. Tracy Geer,
Ph.D., and assistant professor at the University of Texas South-Western Medical
Center says, “You need to break a sweat for 30 minutes at least three times a week
to get results that last”. It really works to beat the blues.

14. ✔Just take baby steps: Because just 10 minutes of activity a day can rev up your
endorphins and lower your tension – this is according to the Mayo Clinic. If you work
out in three 10-minute intervals, it is equally as effective as a 30-minute session, Dr.
Greer says.
✔Remember strength-training: After a strength-training program of 12 weeks,
nearly 90% of clinically depressed women, in a study from Harvard, reported improved
mood; no longer meeting the criteria for depression! Check out these low-impact
strength-training videos.
✔Get Zen (relaxation): Yoga is known for its abilities to help ease depression and
decrease anxiety; that’s from a study by the American College of Sports Medicine.
Check out these yoga videos.
Are you depressed and overweight at the same time?
You can overcome it because it is possible to lose weight and be suffering from depression
at the same time. Sure, it can be depressing to be overweight and not to be able to lose

15. weight, but you have to change your mindset into thinking and believing that yes, you
can do this and you will! You have to change what you are doing or more, what you are
not doing. Whether you are not exercising, or you are not eating properly or you are
abusing your body with too much cigarette smoking, too much alcohol or drugs; just
abusing your body – it’s time to take charge.
Now is the time
o To replace bad eating habits with healthy ones.
o It’s time to start exercising even if it is just a 30-minute walk each day; even doing
exercises in your own home.
o Now is the time to make your motto ‘Just Do It”! Don’t care what other people think
or say. This is the time to have people around you who will be supporting you all the
way – remember you aren’t alone.

16. o Now is the time to make some goals and change your health and fitness lifestyle. Look
at all the ways you can start losing weight – yoga, exercises, workouts, health foods
– there are heaps of ways. But you have to find the one that works best for you and
what you know you will be willing to do. Get into something that you find fun, new,
and exciting. Not only will that help you to lose weight, but you will probably lose
some of the depression along the way!
So start working on the depression first
Krista’s example above is a wonderful example of how it can work; that you can conquer
and achieve great things when you set your mind to it. There simply is overwhelming
evidence which supports the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and diet, and we know too,
that diet plays such an important role in mental health too, that it has inspired an entire
field of medicine called nutritional psychiatry. What it boils down to is that what enters
our mouth matters for every aspect of our health, and particularly our mental health.
Quality does matter over quantity. And when it comes to what you eat in respect of the
mental state of your health, quality really does matter.

17. Did you know this? That “More die in the United States of too much food than of too
little”
- John Kenneth Galbraith -