Are obese adolescents more depressed?
نویسندگان
1 Child Growth and Development Research Center
2 Cardiac Rehabilitation Research Center
3 Department of Pediatric Endocrinology, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
4
5 Hypertension Research Center, Isfahan Cardiovascular Research Institute,
6
doi
چکیده
Introduction: Obesity is a growing problem in all countries which leads to various physical,psychological, and social problems. The present study aimed to assess depressionin children and adolescents aged 10-18-year old compared with the control group.Materials and Methods: In a case-control study, from among the 10- to 18-year-old studentsof the five education districts of Isfahan, 100 people (50 girls and 50 boys) were selected asobese children with the Body Mass Index (BMI) of greater than 95th percentile for their ageand gender and 100 others (50 girls and 50 boys) as the control group with the BMI of 5th to85th percentile. The case and control groups were matched for age, gender, and socio-economicstatus. After calculating BMI based on weight (kg)/height2 (meter), subjects were interviewedbased on DSM IV criteria to diagnose clinical depression. The severity of children’s depressionwas measured using standardized questionnaire. Results: The mean age of the case groupwas 12.2 ± 1.86-years old and that of the control group 13.06 ± 2.25. They were, respectively,diagnosed with depression of 7% and 6%. The mean depression score of the case groupwas 11.7 ± 5.3 and that of the control group was 10.6 ± 6.03 with no statistical significance.Discussion: Given our findings, the Jolly fat hypothesis applies to the case group. It seemsthat health policy-makers need to make intervention plans to change behavior; attitude, skill,and knowledge (BASK) of the public toward obesity and its long-term side-effects.