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MINI REVIEW article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Psychological Therapy and Psychosomatics
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1422877
This article is part of the Research Topic Psychocardiology in Socially Disadvantaged Groups View all 3 articles

Understanding the Bidirectional Association Between Obesity and Risk of Psychological Distress and Depression in Young Adults in the US: Available Evidence, Knowledge Gaps, and Future Directions

Provisionally accepted
Michael Friedman Michael Friedman 1,2*Ryan Chang Ryan Chang 3Zahir Malik Amin Zahir Malik Amin 4Tanuja Rajan Tanuja Rajan 5Rahul Singh Rahul Singh 6Samuel Yousefzai Samuel Yousefzai 7Izza Shahid Izza Shahid 2,8Khurram Nasir Khurram Nasir 2,8Zulqarnain Javed Zulqarnain Javed 2,8
  • 1 Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States
  • 2 Center for Cardiovascular Computation and Precision Health, DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, Texas, United States
  • 3 Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, United States
  • 4 University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston, Texas, United States
  • 5 Department of Internal Medicine, University of North Carolina Health Southeastern, Lumberton, North Carolina, United States
  • 6 Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Medical School, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
  • 7 Other, Houston, TX, United States
  • 8 Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, Texas, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    While the physical health effects of obesity are well-characterized, an emerging branch of research has shown that obesity additionally plays a critical role in one's mental health. Young adults, in a pivotal transition phase in their lives, may be particularly prone to the concurrent effects of obesity and adverse mental health outcomes. The purpose of this review is to comprehensively examine existing data regarding the connection between obesity and two widely validated measures of mental health: psychological distress and depression. The connection between mental health outcomes and obesity is mediated by a complex interplay between biological and sociocultural factors, which is explored in this review with particular focus younger adults aged 20-39. Further, the impact of several demographic factors including race/ethnicity, gender, and immigration status are examined closely. To our knowledge, this review is one of the first efforts to integrate existing knowledge between obesity and mental health, with particular regard for young adults and the impact of other key sociodemographic characteristics. This review has important implications at the interface of two of the most pressing public health crises in the United States.

    Keywords: Obesity, Depression, psychological distress (PD), young adults, Cardiovascular health

    Received: 05 Jun 2024; Accepted: 16 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Friedman, Chang, Amin, Rajan, Singh, Yousefzai, Shahid, Nasir and Javed. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Michael Friedman, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, 63130, Missouri, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.