The stigma around being overweight or obese may contribute to the link between weight and depression, and this extends even to people who have a healthy weight but perceive themselves as being overweight.
鈥淭his fear of social devaluation resulting from perceiving oneself as being part of a stigmatised group may threaten core psychological needs of belonging and acceptance, and in turn damage mental health,鈥� writes a team of researchers in a study led by Ashleigh Haynes at the University of Liverpool in the UK.
She and her colleagues reviewed results from 32 studies conducted since 1991 on the link between perceptions of being overweight or obese and symptoms of depression. These studies were conducted in the US, the Netherlands, South Korea, China, Hong Kong and Japan, and included sample sizes ranging from 106 to more than 109,000.
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In these studies, participants rated their own perception of their weight in categories such as very or slightly underweight, about right or normal, slightly overweight, and very overweight or obese. Their objective weight was calculated using body mass index.
These studies measured depressive symptoms by self-report on questionnaires, through clinical interviews or by diagnosis.
Overall, when compared with those who thought their weight was about right or normal, participants who perceived themselves as overweight had higher odds of having depressive symptoms and were at higher risk of having suicidal thoughts 鈥� as were those whose BMI categorised them as overweight.
There was no significant difference between genders, age groups or countries. Haynes and her team note that the causal direction of this link is unclear 鈥� that is, it is possible that the negative cognitive biases that may lead to depression could lead someone to perceive themselves as overweight, and not the other way around.
Clinical Psychology Review
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