Relationship between body mass index and depressive symptoms: the “fat and jolly” hypothesis for the middle-aged and elderly in China

• Main Authors: Lin Zhang, Kun Liu, Hong Li, Dan Li, Zhuo Chen, Li-li Zhang, Lei-lei Guo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2016-11-01
• Series: BMC Public Health
• Subjects: Body mass index; Depressive symptoms; Fat and jolly; Middle-aged and elderly; Obesity
• Online Access: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12889-016-3864-5

Abstract Background Obesity has been identified as a worldwide epidemic. In China, the highest prevalence of obesity is observed in adults aged ≥45 years old. This study aimed to describe the association between BMI and depressive symptoms among a large representative sample of middle-aged and elderly in China. Method A longitudinal sample of the middle-aged and elderly (6,224 males and 6,883 females) who were interviewed in the 2011 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study was used. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to examine the effects of socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyle, activity status, health status, physical exercise and body weight on depressive symptoms. Results Approximately 6.94% of the males were underweight, 25.48% were overweight and 8.16% were obese. A higher prevalence of obesity was found among women, with 6.89% being underweight, 31.98% overweight and 14.28% obese. The underweight subjects were more likely to be depressed (odds ratio; OR = 1.30 and 1.19) compared with the normal weight people, respectively, whereas overweight and obese men and women were less likely to be depressed (overweight: OR = 0.76 and 0.80; obesity: OR = 0.64 and 0.65, respectively) than people of normal weight. Conclusion Our data are consistent with the “fat and jolly” hypothesis being valid in both middle-aged and elderly men and women.