Obesity tied to risk of psychiatric disorders (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Obesity is a well known riskfactor for certain physical health problems, but a new studysuggests that heavy adults also have higher rates ofpsychiatric disorders.

Using data from a national health survey of more than40,000 Americans, researchers found that obese adults were upto twice as likely to suffer from depression, anxiety and othermental health conditions as normal-weight adults.

In addition, even moderately overweight people had elevatedrates of anxiety disorders, the study found.

Whether excess pounds somehow lead to mental healthproblems is not clear, according to the researchers. But thefindings do indicate that a range of psychiatric disorders aremore common among overweight people.

They also suggest that briefly screening obese patients forsuch conditions could be useful, lead researcher Dr. Nancy M.Petry told Reuters Health.

She and her colleagues at the University of ConnecticutHealth Center in Farmington report their study findings in thejournal Psychosomatic Medicine.

The findings are based on a government study of 41,654 U.S.adults who were assessed for recent and lifetime psychiatricdisorders.

In general, Petry's team found, obese adults had higherrisks of major and milder depression, anxiety disorders likepanic disorder and phobias, and "manic" episodes. They alsoshowed higher rates of alcohol abuse and personality disorders,such as obsessive-compulsive behavior and paranoid personalitydisorder.

Among adults who were moderately overweight, rates ofanxiety disorders were higher than those of normal-weight menand women.

The researchers could not fully investigate the reasons forall of these links, but use of psychiatric drugs -- which cancause weight gain -- did not explain the findings. They saybehavioral, biological or genetic factors could all plausiblyplay a role in the relationship between weight and mentalhealth.

For example, Petry explained, the links between weight andcertain psychiatric disorders could point to a general"behavioral dysregulation," where people deal with stress byovereating, as well as doing other things in excess.

Eating can also become in a "conditioned reinforcer" insome people, she said. This means that if a person habituallyturns to food in response to anxiety, then eventually evenminor stress may spur overeating.

SOURCE: Psychosomatic Medicine, April 2008.