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Does Depression Medication Make You Fat?

According to the National Institute of Mental Health article "The Numbers Count: Mental Disorders in America" (Feb. 4, 2009), approximately 14.8 million American adults suffer from major depression. There is no question that there is a rise of obesity in America. Doctors have found many links between depression and obesity, such as defects in the release of the hormone cortisol or eating high calorie foods for a release of dopamine. Overeating may also be a form of destruction tied to negative thoughts due to depressive episodes.

  1. New Discoveries

    • In the article "Biological Link to Obesity and Depression," author Rick Nauert, Ph.D., asserts that there is a biological link between depression and overeating. Nauert and other researchers found abnormalities in the "stress" hormone cortisol. Cortisol, a steroid hormone, helps the body cope with stress. More importantly, it converts fat, protein and carbohydrates into energy. Normally, cortisol reaches its peak in the morning and dies down at night, but there is an elevated level of cortisol in depressed people and these levels actually peak slightly at night. Continued elevation of cortisol in the body helps create the metabolic syndrome, which leads to abdominal accumulation of fat and diabetes and heart disease.

    Depressed Outlook

    • Severely depressed people often lose interest not only in hobbies and activities they enjoy but in their own hygiene and physical appearance. Food plays a large role in depression since a depressed person is already neglecting his own appearance. Overeating may be another form of self-neglect; a depressed person may turn to food, eat ravenously, become obese and lose interest in his weight.

    Eating and Pleasure

    • Eating food not for survival but because you crave it releases dopamine in the brain, creating a short burst of pleasure and euphoria. To get the dopamine burst a depressed person is are looking for, she will eat high-calorie foods such as cookies, cakes and candy. These high-calorie foods are often referred to as "comfort foods."

    Obesity as Neglect

    • Obesity can also occur in a depressed person because symptoms of depression include both eating very small portions or terribly large portions. Overeating may reveal that a depressed person craves foods not just for their sweetness or sugar but because he is craving massive calorie intake. Eating too little or much leaves the body too thin or too obese and can easily be seen as a passive mode of self destruction.

    Conclusion

    • Psychcentral.com, in its June 12, 2009, article titled "Biological Link to Obesity and Depression" by Dr. Rick Nauert, links high rates of obesity and depression to genetics in adults and children. Depression and overeating can both be treated successfully if treatment is sought.

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