Abstract
The relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) and mental health has been widely investigated, and recent evidence has shown that overweight and obese individuals may be more vulnerable to the development of anxiety and mood disorders than individuals of a normal weight. This article examines the association between BMI and mood states of mentally healthy adults. BMI and Brunel Mood Scale (BRUMS) scores, and other demographic information, was collected from healthy adults over a six month period (N = 1621). When age was controlled, only a small but significant negative correlation between BMI and Depression in men was found, which stands in contrasts to previous studies. This may be due to the sample of mentally healthy adults with less incidence of severe obesity due to their military background. Further, African samples may have different expressions for non-clinical distress than industrialised countries which may lead to skewed results. The findings suggests that measures of transient mood states, like the BRUMS, may not be particularly useful in investigating relationships between mental health constructs and anthropometric measures, like BMI.
Highlights
Body Mass Index (BMI) is a number calculated from a person's weight and height, and an effective method for population assessment of overweight and obesity (CDC, 2010)
Within the South African (SA) context, the negative health consequences associated with increased BMI is well described: obesity is associated with increasing risk of developing hypertension, coronary heart diseases, diabetes, stroke, and some forms of cancer in both Black and White African populations (Joubert et al, 2007; Kruger et al, 2001; Levitt et al, 1993; Steyn et al, 1996)
As found among the general population, they have high levels of overweight, with about 16% of women and 18% of men in the obese category (Van Wijk & Van der Spuy, 2010). As their BMI will not have any relationship with psychiatric diagnoses, it allows for exploring the question whether it will be associated with levels of psychological distress, measured through sub-clinical or non-diagnostic mood-states
Summary
Body Mass Index (BMI) is a number calculated from a person's weight and height, and an effective method for population assessment of overweight and obesity (CDC, 2010). Some studies found higher scores of sub-clinical conditions of anxiety and depression associated with increased BMI (Cilli et al, 2003; Jorm et al, 2003), while one found that overweight men were less likely to have sub-clinical symptoms of anxiety or depression compared to normal weight men and to women (McLaren et al, 2008). As found among the general population, they have high levels of overweight, with about 16% of women and 18% of men in the obese category (Van Wijk & Van der Spuy, 2010) As their BMI will not have any relationship with psychiatric diagnoses, it allows for exploring the question whether it will be associated with levels of psychological distress, measured through sub-clinical or non-diagnostic mood-states
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