Childhood Obesity Depression
In a study put on by the Athens University Medical School, a link between obesity and depression was observed.....
Researchers saw an abnormality in cortisol levels of obese children. Cortisol is a hormone (a steriod) that assists us in converting the food we eat into energy, but helps the body deal with stress.
Cortisol levels usually are the highest in the morning when you wake up, and lowest at night, however in the kids dealing with Childhood Obesity, they seemed to have elevated levels in the afternoon and night. The problem is that constantly higher levels of cortisol can lead to metabolic syndrome which causes increased risk of belly fat, diabetes, and cardio disease.
So in a nutshell, more depression=more cortisol=more risk of obesity....and the more depressed the kids the more cortisol....well you get the idea.
Looks like there's a strong interrelation between childhood obesity and depression.
Big thanks from the obesity community to Dr. Panagiota Pervanidou for penning this study.
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