Obese Children Also Likely to be Depressed

Posted on July 6, 2009

Studies have already shown that obesity and depression can go hand in hand in adults. Now, new research supports the same theory in children. A new Science Daily piece examines a new study that connects abnormalities of the stress hormone cortisol with symptoms of depression in obese children.

“There is evidence in adults that abnormal regulation of cortisol plays a role in both obesity and depression,” said the study’s lead author, Panagiota Pervanidou, MD, of Athens University Medical School in Athens, Greece, in the Science Daily. “Our study indicates that cortisol abnormalities may underlie obesity and depression starting in childhood.”