Trying again (and again): Weight cycling and depressive symptoms in U.S. adults

Abstract

As the prevalence of overweight and obesity have risen over the past few decades, so have weight control attempts. Research has shown, however, that intentional weight loss results are often short-lived, with people regaining the weight over time. This can lead to weight cycling-losing and gaining weight repeatedly. Previous research, mostly done over two decades ago, concluded there was no relationship between weight cycling and psychological health. The goal of the current paper was to reexamine the relationship between weight cycling and depressive symptoms in a national sample of American adults (N = 2702; 50.7% female; mean age = 44.8 years). If, as hypothesized, there is a relationship between more frequent weight cycling and depressive symptoms, then internalized weight stigma will be examined as a potential mediator of the relationship. Results of a cross-sectional survey showed that 74.6% of adults report they have intentionally tried to lose weight. Amongst those who have tried to lose to weight, the average number of weight cycles over the lifetime was 7.82 cycles. Simultaneous regression showed that greater weight cycling was related to greater reported depressive symptoms (β = .15, p < .001), controlling for age, gender, education, income, and body mass index. Internalized weight stigma was a partial mediator of this relationship. Discussion focuses on the potential implications for weight cycling and mental health.

Biological, Psychological, and Social Determinants of Depression: A Review of Recent Literature

“…Nevertheless, we have decided to leave these factors in a separate category (because their categorization may not be as immediately clear-cut as others), and these factors include: low-level light [ 429 ], weight cycling [ 430 ], water contaminants [ 431 ], trade [ 432 ], air pollution [ 433 , 434 ], program-level variables (ex. feedback and learning experience) [ 435 ], TV viewing [ 436 ], falls [ 437 ], various other biological factors [ 116 , 136 , 141 , 151 , 164 , 182 , 363 , 364 , 438 , 439 , 440 , 441 , 442 , 443 , 444 , 445 , 446 , 447 , 448 , 449 , 450 , 451 , 452 , 453 , 454 , 455 , 456 , 457 , 458 , 459 , 460 , 461 , 462 , 463 , 464 , 465 , 466 , 467 , 468 , …”

Implications of Dietary Intake and Eating Behaviors for People with Serious Mental Illness: A Qualitative Study

“…Weight cycling can have negative psychological and behavioral implications with a greater risk for psychopathology [51]. For example, Quinn et al (2020) showed that greater weight cycling is related to depressive symptoms, with stigma as a partial mediator, even after controlling for age, gender, education, income and body mass index [52]. Experimental studies point out that weight cycling causes pronounced stress on the metabolic system, with distinct fluctuations in blood pressure, heart rate, sympathetic activity and levels of lipids, glucose and insulin [53].…”

Diet, Obesity, and Depression: A Systematic Review

“…It is well established that depression and obesity co-occur to a high degree [ 5 , 6 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 ], however the relationship between the two disorders is complex and currently of ambiguous directionality. Stunkard et al presented a summary on the existing data using a moderator/mediator framework in which they classified eating and physical activity as an important mediator of obesity and comorbid depression [ 16 ].…”