Can overweight or obesity affect mental health?

Obesity is a chronic medical condition where a person has an excess amount of adipose tissue, a type of tissue that is commonly referred to as body fat.

Obesity is extremely common. It’s estimated that 40 percent of adults living in the United States have obesity. An additional 30 percent are overweight, which puts a person at an increased risk of obesity. These conditions also affect many children and adolescents.

If you are living with overweight or obesity, it’s important to seek treatment from a healthcare provider. Both conditions increase a person’s risk of many different health problems and health conditions, including mental health disorders.

The relationship between obesity and mental health

The relationship between obesity and mental health is complex. Having overweight or obesity can negatively affect mental health for a number of reasons and in a number of ways:

• Psychological. Excess weight is associated with feelings of low self-esteem and dissatisfaction with body image. In some cases, these feelings can lead to social isolation. Also, many people with overweight or obesity feel the condition is a personal failing—despite an overwhelming amount of evidence that proves this is not true.
• Social. Experiences with stigma and discrimination from others related to weight contribute to distress and worse mental health. This includes experiences with stigma and discrimination in healthcare environments. These can shape or reinforce feelings of low self-esteem, dissatisfaction with body image, and social isolation.
• Physiological. Excess adipose tissue disrupts numerous processes in the body, including hormone levels, inflammation, and metabolism. These can affect mood, behavior, and brain function. Obesity and depression may also share common genetic risk factors.

Having a mental health disorder can also increase a person’s risk of obesity. Depression and anxiety are associated with weight gain. Weight gain can also be a side effect of antidepressants, which are used to treat depression as well as other mental health disorders.

Problems with mental health can also affect treatment outcomes, making a person less likely to seek treatment and making it more difficult for a person to follow a treatment plan.

In other words, the relationship is complex and bidirectional. Problems with mental health can contribute to overweight or obesity. Having overweight or obesity can worsen mental health.

Treatment options continue to improve

Anyone living with overweight or obesity should know that these conditions are treatable—and that treatment options have significantly improved in recent years, with the availability of GLP-1 and dual-action GLP-1/GIP medications.

These medications can be prescribed to treat obesity. They can also be prescribed to treat overweight with serious coexisting conditions related to overweight. Additional medications are under development, and treatment options are expected to keep improving in the near future.

These medications are helping many people with overweight and obesity achieve weight loss and improve their health. Changes to eating and exercise habits also need to be a focus of treatment, and medications work better when used alongside these changes. Movement and good nutrition also have many other health benefits beyond weight loss.

Making mental health a part of treatment

If you are seeking treatment for overweight or obesity, consider making mental health a part of your conversations with your healthcare provider.

Also consider working with a healthcare provider who specializes in mental health. Several psychological and supportive methods have been found to be beneficial in the treatment of obesity, including counseling, various types of behavioral therapy, and mindfulness-based interventions that address stress, negative thoughts, and eating behaviors.

Incorporating elements like these into a treatment plan can have a number of benefits:

• It can help identify and treat any coexisting or underlying mental health disorders and concerns.
• It can help you understand the psychological and social factors that may have contributed to overweight and obesity.
• It can help you learn healthy ways for managing negative feelings about body image and improve self-esteem.
• It can help you learn strategies to cope with stigma and other challenges that you may encounter in the future.
• It can help you understand and work toward treatment goals.
• Along with patient education, it can improve adherence to treatment.

Mental health and social support can also help you better understand what you need from treatment. Overweight and obesity are a different experience for every person. It’s important that your treatment plan addresses your unique needs.