Effect of Depressive Symptoms on Weight among Adults at Al-Najaf Province: A case-control Study

Background: Obesity and major depression disorder are two of the most common diseases in the world. They are also big problems because they have a very strong effect on people's health and well-being, but also because of their high morbidity and mortality rates and socioeconomic effect. Aim of the study: This study to study the association between obesity and depression, and to explore the link between body mass index and socio-demographic characteristics. Patients and methods: A case-control study utilized a random sample of 300 subjects (100 obese group and 200 normal weight group) attending diabetes and endocrinology center at Al- Najaf province. All subjects have been taken randomly from adult individuals with age range between (18-60) years in Al-Najaf province. The data were collected from October to the February. The obtained data analyzed by Version 28 of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).  Results: The current study found a significant association between obesity and depression, indicates that those with moderate/severe depression scores are more likely to be obese than those with mild depression or no depression (odds ratio = 2.306 times, 95% CI: 1.360-3.910). With (p = 0.002). The relationship between obesity and socio-demographic factors, this study found positive association between obesity and exercise (p = 0.001) and family history of obesity (p = 0.037), while the other characteristics were not significant. Conclusions: The current study concluded that those who had moderate or severe depression symptoms were more likely for developing obesity than those who had a mild or no depression symptoms.