Hidoc Bulletin

Highly prevalent poor unbalanced lifestyle habits linked to obesity negatively affect the quality of life & slowly provoke mental disorders. The affinity between excessive weight & mental distress is due to a vicious circle of stress-induced high cortisol production, enhanced glucocorticoid action, obesity & mental health disturbances. 

How is obesity linked to mental health? 

Obesogenic processes are developed due to life's negative emotional experiences resulting from physiological & habit changes. This initiates an individual's surviving ability to simultaneously deal with stress-related low mood & stigmatization of weight gain. Factors like depression, anxiety, and constant fear affect eating behavior by activating self-contempt, self-body shape rejection & damaged interpersonal relationships. 

There is a significantly positive association between obesity & low dietary adequacy. High body mass index (BMI) caused by brain-related hedonic pathways disturbs the body's homeostatic pathways leading to mental suffering & increased mental disorder risk. 

Uncontrolled obesogenic eating behaviors 

These arise due to impaired inhibitory control of eating, culminating in an increased risk of being overweight & obese, insecurities related to weight stigma, emotional self-image burden, anxiety symptoms & susceptibility to use food to manage uneasy emotions. 

1. High ultra-processed food eating

Negative aspects of overconsumption of junk foods include low nutritious dietary choices, high intake of excessively loaded energy-dense, fat & sugar-rich, and low fiber & nutrients retaining foods. Comprehensively this also decreases fat oxidation & PYY (Peptide YY) concentration & increases ghrelin concentrations establishing a concrete connection between bad eating practices related to obesity-driven bad mental health. 

2. Emotional eating

Individuals use food to satisfy their emotional needs with highly palatable & greater-density foods. Increased isolated sedentary lifestyle provokes loneliness, pessimistic self-talk & shrinking social support system associated with the cycle of binging-depression-self-loathing-binging; and fluctuating stress-induced cortisol levels.

3. Impulsive eating

Carried out of impulsiveness & lowers food control & greater difficulty to resist food intake. 

4. Binge eating

A type of impulsive uncontrollable eating followed by guilt.

5. Night eating 

Sleep disturbances linked to circadian rhythm changes lead to neurological disturbances & less weight control. 

6.  Excessive technology-mediated living

Resulting in chronic inflammation & difficult weight management

Interventions for obesity-induced mental health problems 

Obesity is significantly affected by psychological & behavioral issues. Managing obesity requires a cumulative care to address psychological, social, environmental & biological factors. Substantial obesity treatment can be achieved by improving stress & emotional state management and redefining coping mechanisms among the high-risk group. 

1.    Induce positive lifestyle approaches combined with cognitive behavioral therapy
2.    Encourage sensible eating habits, increased physical activity & development of healthy body-related attitudes
3.    Initiate preventive efforts to tackle obesity-triggering mental health disturbances
4.    Motivate weight loss by reminding health needs & ignoring appearance-driven concerns 
5.    Help build self-esteem, and self-acceptance regardless of success in efforts at weight control 

Conclusion 

Obesity ushers mental complications like depression, anxiety, stress disorders & vice versa. The complexities of obesity & mental health connection demand multidisciplinary approaches aimed at awareness regarding the long-term good routines & advantages of healthy weight maintenance among different populations. 

References 

1.    Children,2023;10:285
2.    Obesities 2022, 2, 350–360
3.    CanJPsychiatry 2012;57(1):5–12
4.    Am J Psychiatry 2000; 157:854–866
5.    Int J Psychiatr Res. 2021; 4(1):1-12
6.    The Journal of Lancaster General Hospital, 2009; 4:4