Obesity treatment interventions also help address mental health conditions

Many adolescents with obesity who are seeking treatment self-report symptoms of depression, eating disorders, and/or binge eating, and these symptoms appear to decrease with weight loss, according to a study. 

Researchers evaluated changes in self-reported symptoms of depression, eating disorders, and binge eating in 141 adolescents with obesity (median age 14.8 years, 49.6 percent female, mean BMI 35.39 kg/m²) during the Fast Track to Health trial. The trial participants underwent 52 weeks of intervention involving a very low energy diet for 4 weeks followed by intermittent energy restriction (IER group) or continuous energy restriction (CER group).

At baseline, the participants had a median score of 2.28 on the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q), 9.00 on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale–Revised 10-Item Version for Adolescents (CESDR-10), and 11.00 on the Binge Eating Scale (BES).

The CESDR-10 and EDE-Q scored decreased from baseline to week 52 in both the IER and CER groups, indicating improvements in symptoms of depression and eating disorders. Meanwhile, BES scores decreased in the IER group only.

Overall, the changes observed in symptoms of depression, eating disorders, and binge eating over 52 weeks did not differ significantly between the IER and the CER groups (CESDR-10: mean difference, 0.75, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], −1.86 to 3.37), EDE-Q (mean difference, 0.02, 95 percent CI, −0.41 to 0.45), or BES (mean difference, −2.91, 95 percent CI, −5.87 to 0.05).

A total of 17 participants (12.1 percent) required support or referral for depression and/or disordered eating, including seven (five in the IER group, two in the CER group) who experienced the onset or reemergence of symptoms during the intervention.