Psychiatry
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From the Journals

Does Childhood Obesity Protect Mental Health?

A recent study reveals, 'Higher body size in adulthood increased the risk of later-life anxiety and depression, independent of childhood body size,' highlighting the critical role of managing adult obesity to mitigate mental health risks​.

Conexiant

A large-scale genetic study revealed that higher body size in childhood does not increase the risk of anxiety and depression in later life, provided individuals maintain normal weight as adults.

In the study, published in BMC Medicine, investigators used Mendelian randomization analysis of genetic data from over 453,000 individuals in the UK Biobank along with data from the Million Veteran Program and Psychiatric Genomics Consortium. They found that higher adult body size significantly increased anxiety scores (beta = 0.15, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.08–0.21) and depression risk (odds ratio [OR] = 1.32, 95% CI = 1.20–1.46). Conversely, when accounting for adult body size, higher childhood body size showed a protective effect against later anxiety (beta = −0.19, 95% CI = −0.29 to −0.08) and depression (OR = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.71–0.97).

Childhood body size data were categorized based on participant recall, with individuals self-reporting their body size at age 10 as thinner, plumper, or about average. The protective association observed for childhood body size was conditional on maintaining a normal body size in adulthood.

The research team utilized genetic variants associated with body size at different life stages to disentangle the complex relationship between early life weight, adult weight, and mental health outcomes. The study employed inverse variance weighted (IVW) estimates in both univariable and multivariable analyses to determine causal associations. IVW combines ratio estimates from genetic variants to provide statistically robust results, reducing confounding often seen in observational studies.

Sensitivity analyses, including MR Egger and MR-PRESSO, revealed no evidence of horizontal pleiotropy, and findings were consistent across multiple methods, further strengthening the reliability of the results.

"These findings highlight the public health importance of a life course approach in our understanding of adverse health outcomes and how the quantification of risk/benefits of adiposity at different stages of life could guide targeted interventions and improve disease prevention," the study authors noted.

The data used in this study were ethically approved and publicly available, ensuring transparency and reliability. However, the investigators acknowledged limitations such as potential recall bias in childhood body size reporting and the predominantly European ancestry of participants, which may limit generalizability.

While the findings suggested that childhood obesity alone may not predispose individuals to mental health issues, the study underscored the importance of weight management throughout the lifespan, particularly in adulthood, to mitigate risks of anxiety and depression.

One study investigator is a full-time employee of GlaxoSmithKline outside of this research. The other authors declared that they have no competing interests.