Depressed mood in class III obesity predicted by weight-related stigma.
BACKGROUND
Greater depressed mood in Class III obese surgery-seeking clients may be due to weight-related stigma, weight-related physical disability (e.g. mobility) or the presence of binge-eating (BE).


METHODS
60 Class III obese surgery-seeking adults were administered the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), weight-related physical disability (IWQOL-PF) and another weight-related stigma (IWQOL-PD), and assessed for BE (SCID-1 or Questionnaire of Eating and Weight Patterns) before surgery.


RESULTS
In a hierarchical regression analysis, BMI, gender, and age of obesity onset did not account for a significant portion of the variance in BDI scores in the first step. The second step of the model was statistically significant (F(3,53)=8.469, P<0.000), accounting for 33.6% of the variance in BDI scores. IWQOL-PD scores were the only significant predictor of BDI scores (b=0.518, P=0.001), and this independently contributed to 32.6% of the variance in BDI scores.


CONCLUSIONS
This suggests that depressed mood seen in Class III obese surgery-seeking individuals may be most related to weight-related stigma rather than BE status, or weight-related physical disability.
Department of Psychiatry, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. chen@bsd.uchicago.edu
Eunice Y
EY
Chen
Lindsey E
LE
Bocchieri-Ricciardi
Daniel
D
Munoz
Sarah
S
Fischer
Shawn
S
Katterman
Megan
M
Roehrig
Maureen
M
Dymek-Valentine
John C
JC
Alverdy
Daniel
D
Le Grange
D000328:Adult; D002032:Bulimia / Q000150:complications; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology* / Q000601:surgery; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D011287:Prejudice; D011581:Psychological Tests; D011788:Quality of Life; D012307:Risk Factors