ReviewPhilosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences2023
Obesity and psychological distress.
Review in Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06901739 (New Dietary Intervention Strategies on the Intestinal Microbiota to Improve Mental Health Subjects With Obesity), which is not on this map. Cited by 82 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
New Dietary Intervention Strategies on the Intestinal Microbiota to Improve Mental Health Subjects With Obesity: Therapeutic Potential of a Synbiotic.
Who cites it
82 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 126 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy of different high-intensity interval training versus moderate-intensity continuous training for body composition and cardiorespiratory fitness in obese/overweight patients: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of exercise on cognitive function in children and adolescents with overweight or obesity: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in public health · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of high intensity interval training and moderate intensity continuous training on enjoyment and affective responses in overweight or obese people: a meta-analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2024Pooled it
- Real-World Evidence for Existing Anti-Obesity Therapies-The Realities of Treatment Adherence, Tolerability, Access and Patient Satisfaction.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2026Review
- Sociodemographic Characteristics and Dietary Habits Associated with Generalized Anxiety Disorder Symptoms in Adults Living in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A Large Cross-Sectional Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Understanding Internalized Weight Bias and Its Psychological Consequences: Implications for Improving Quality of Life.Scandinavian journal of psychology · 2026Article
- Joint contribution of body mass index and psychological distress to short and long sickness absence among young and early midlife public sector employees: a register-linked follow-up study.European journal of public health · 2026Article
- Screening, Diagnosis, Evaluation, and Staging of Obesity in Adults: Standards of Care in Overweight and Obesity-2026.BMJ open diabetes research & care · 2026Review
- The Relationship Between Premorbid Weight Status and Eating Disorder Onset in Adolescents: A Longitudinal Study.The International journal of eating disorders · 2026Article
- The Mediating Role of Appetitive Traits in the Relationship Between Psychological Distress and Body Mass Index of Malaysian Adults.Brain and behavior · 2026Article
- Sex differences in psychological distress and its risk factors among US adult Black and White immigrants, NHIS 2005-2018.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Profiling decision-making mechanisms in binge eating disorder.Journal of eating disorders · 2026Article
- Infant social withdrawal and rapid infant weight gain.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2026Article
- Unveiling the complex landscape of successful weight loss: Perceived consequences and spontaneous self-concept insights.Journal of health psychology · 2026Article
- Sex-related difference of subcortical gray matter volume associated with crystallized intelligence in young adults with obesity.Biology of sex differences · 2026Article
- How do Italian adolescents see themselves? Body weight congruence and its determinants in the 2021/2022 HBSC study.Italian journal of pediatrics · 2026Article
- Multimodal (Bio)Markers and Risk of Obesity - A Comprehensive Scoping Review.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2026Article
- Nonlinear associations of BMI and body dissatisfaction with depression and an exploratory decomposition of the indirect association: a cross-sectional study of Chinese university students.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Eating attitudes across body mass index categories in Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Article
- Genetic associations and candidate functional genes linking depression and obesity: a multi-omics integrative study.Frontiers in genetics · 2026Article
22 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The relationship between high body weight and mental health has been studied for several decades. Improvements in the quality of epidemiological, mechanistic and psychological research have brought greater consistency to our understanding of the links. Large-scale population-based epidemiological research has established that high body weight is associated with poorer mental health, particularly depression and subclinical depressive symptoms. There is some evidence for bidirectional relationships, but the most convincing findings are that greater body weight leads to psychological distress rather than the reverse. Particular symptoms of depression and distress may be specifically related to greater body weight. The psychological stress induced by weight stigma and discrimination contributes to psychological distress, and may in turn handicap efforts at weight control. Heightened systemic inflammation and dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis are biological mechanisms that mediate in part the relationship of greater body weight with poorer mental health. Changing negative societal attitudes to high body weights would improve the wellbeing of people living with obesity, and promote more effective weight-inclusive attitudes and behaviours in society at large, particularly in healthcare settings. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Causes of obesity: theories, conjectures and evidence (Part II)'.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.