How to Control Weight When You Suffer From Depression

Depression is a tough condition to live with and I know that the weight gain experienced by people who suffer from depression is an added stress. In my experience, taking anti-depressants over a long period seems to contribute to weight gain and makes losing weight more difficult. However, please don't worry, if you follow my program, you will lose weight and lighten your life.

Have I Got Signs of Depression?

If you have been feeling down, or out-of-sorts, your thoughts can easily turn to whether you are depressed or not. This first section will take you through the signs of depression and how depression is diagnosed.

However, whether you 'fit' the depression diagnosis or not is unimportant. If you are feeling so down that you need to do something about it, that is enough.

Usually, our clients report one or more of the following:

• Exhaustion on waking
• Disrupted sleep, sometimes through upsetting dreams
• Early morning waking and difficulty getting back to sleep
• Doing less of what they used to enjoy
• Difficulty concentrating during the day
• Improved energy as the day goes on
• Anxious worrying and intrusive upsetting thoughts
• Becoming emotional or upset for no particular reason
• Shortness of temper, or irritability
• A high level of stress or anxiety
• A pessimistic outlook on life (always expecting the worst to happen)
• A sense of being trapped with no means of escape
• A sense of being a victim or always having bad luck

Not all people have all of these, and some have different signs, but if you are depressed, at least some of these will probably ring true with you.

The individual signs of depression - the way you feel - are what are used in diagnosing depression. So it's easy to see why there is so much confusion, seeing as the signs are generally common emotions and feelings.

There are also physical effects of depression, which we'll come to later.

Only a qualified doctor or health practitioner can formally diagnose you with clinical depression. However, how they reach this diagnosis gives an incredibly important insight into how to treat depression.

Diagnosing depression

According to the definitions of most medical, psychological and psychiatric bodies, there is a commonality in the diagnosis of depression. Most depression tests have a very similar framework. Almost without exception, clinical depression will be diagnosed if a certain number of feelings, that are signs of depression, are present over a certain period of time

Below is the 'official' guide for diagnosing clinical depression:

OK, so that's what the doctors use. But if we look at E), it raises some interesting questions.

It says that clinical depression can be diagnosed if the symptoms cannot be attributed to bereavement. So, since grieving is a natural response, we can see that depression is simply an out-of-place natural response.

And of course it is. If it were not, we would have to take drugs to create it.

So what about the incredibly popular idea that depression is due to some unnatural chemical imbalance in the brain. That this 'imbalance' is the source and root cause of depression?

It's possible, but it just doesn't make sense for the majority of cases. And when we look at the increase in depression over the last 50 years or so, we will see that our brain chemistry just can't change that quickly.

Overweight and Obesity

The prevalence of obesity (BMI≥30) continues to be a health concern for adults, children and adolescents in the United States. Data from the most recent NHANES survey1 shows that among adult men the prevalence of obesity was 31.1% in 2003—2004, and 33.3% in 2005—2006, a small but not statistically significant change. Among adult women, the prevalence of obesity in 2003—2004 was 33.2%, and in 2005—2006 was 35.3%, again a small but not significant change.

Another recent NHANES survey2 found that obesity prevalence among children and adolescents showed no significant changes between 2003—2004 and 2005—2006. Based on the study, in the combined years of 2003—2006, 16.3% of children and adolescents aged 2–19 years were obese, at or above the 95th percentile of the 2000 BMI-for-age growth charts.

This rate of obesity raises concern because of its implications for the health of Americans. Obesity increases the risk of many diseases and health conditions. These include–

• Hypertension (high blood pressure)
• Osteoarthritis (a degeneration of cartilage and its underlying bone within a joint)
• Dyslipidemia (for example, high total cholesterol or high levels of triglycerides)
• Type 2 diabetes
• Coronary heart disease
• Stroke
• Gallbladder disease
• Sleep apnea and respiratory problems
• Some cancers (endometrial, breast, and colon)

Two of the Healthy People 2010 national health objectives3 are (1) to reduce the prevalence of overweight and obesity among adults to less than 15% and (2) to reduce the prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents to less than 5%. This site provides a variety of information designed to help people understand the severity of obesity, the efforts being made to address it, and how to maintain a healthy weight.

Selected Resources

Healthy Weight – It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle
Whether you want to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight, it’s important to understand the connection between the energy your body takes in (through the foods you eat and the beverages you drink) and the energy your body uses (through the activities you do).

At A Glance 2008 — Physical Activity and Good Nutrition: Essential Elements to Prevent Chronic Diseases and Obesity

Weight Management Research to Practice Series
The Weight Management Research to Practice Series is a series designed to summarize the science on weight management topics for health professionals. An overview of the science will be compiled into a summary document appropriate for public health professionals, including implications for practice. In addition, each installment in the series will be accompanied by a tool geared toward a lay audience, which can be used by health professionals in practice.

References

1Ogden CL, Carroll MD, McDowell MA, Flegal KM. Obesity among adults in the United States – no change since 2003—2004. NCHS data brief no 1. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics, 2007.

2Ogden CL, Carroll MD, Flegal KM. High Body Mass Index for Age Among US Children and Adolescents, 2003—2006. JAMA. 2008;299(20):2401—2405.

3U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Healthy People 2010. 2nd ed. With Understanding and Improving Health and Objectives for Improving Health. 2 vols. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, November 2000.

http://www.clinical-depression.co.uk