ArticlePloS one2024
The relationship of within-individual and between-individual variation in mental health with bodyweight: An exploratory longitudinal study.
Article in PloS one, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.
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- Adiposity trajectory as a predictor of chronic and multisite pain in the transition from childhood to adolescence: A prospective study of a large birth cohort.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2026Article
- Nutritional biomarkers and three-month symptom changes in antidepressant-free adolescents with major depressive disorder: a retrospective cohort study.BMC pediatrics · 2026Article
- Mental health changes after 4 months of weight loss treatment with the glucagon-like peptide-1 analogue liraglutide 3.0 mg.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2026Observational
- Lessons learned from the lived experiences of people living with obesity during the first COVID-19 lockdown in the United Kingdom.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2025Article
- Exploring the interplay between diet, obesity, mental health, and the gut microbiota: the MIND-GUT intervention study, study protocol.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
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Abstract
backgroundPoor mental health is associated with obesity, but existing studies are either cross-sectional or have long time periods between measurements of mental health and weight. It is, therefore, unclear how small fluctuations in mental wellbeing within individuals predict bodyweight over short time periods, e.g. within the next month. Studying this could identify modifiable determinants of weight changes and highlight opportunities for early intervention.
methods2,133 UK adults from a population-based cohort completed monthly mental health and weight measurements using a mobile app over a period of 6-9 months. We used random intercept regression models to examine longitudinal associations of depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms and stress with subsequent weight. In sub-group analyses, we included interaction terms of mental health variables with baseline characteristics. Mental health variables were split into "between-individual" measurements (= the participant's median score across all timepoints) and "within-individual" measurements (at each timepoint, the difference between the participant's current score and their median).
resultsWithin-individual variation in depressive symptoms predicted subsequent weight (0.045kg per unit of depressive symptom severity, 95% CI 0.021-0.069). We found evidence of a moderation effect of baseline BMI on the association between within-individual fluctuation in depressive symptoms and subsequent weight: The association was only apparent in those with overweight/obesity, and it was stronger in those with obesity than those with overweight (BMI<25kg/m2: 0.011kg per unit of depressive symptom severity [95% CI -0.017 to 0.039]; BMI 25-29.9kg/m2: 0.052kg per unit of depressive symptom severity [95%CI 0.010-0.094kg]; BMI≥30kg/m2: 0.071kg per unit of depressive symptom severity [95%CI 0.013-0.129kg]). We found no evidence for other interactions, associations of stress and anxiety with weight, or for a reverse direction of association.
conclusionIn this exploratory study, individuals with overweight or obesity were more vulnerable to weight gain following higher-than-usual (for that individual) depressive symptoms than individuals with a BMI<25kg/m2.
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