title: Lessons from obesity prevention for the prevention of mental disorders: the primordial prevention approach.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Emerging evidence supports a relationship between risk factors for obesity and the genesis of the common mental disorders, depression and anxiety. This suggests common mental disorders should be considered as a form of non-communicable disease, preventable through the modification of lifestyle behaviours, particularly diet and physical activity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Obesity prevention research since the 1970's represents a considerable body of knowledge regarding strategies to modify diet and physical activity and so there may be clear lessons from obesity prevention that apply to the prevention of mental disorders. For obesity, as for common mental disorders, adolescence represents a key period of vulnerability. In this paper we briefly discuss relationships between modifiable lifestyle risk factors and mental health, lifestyle risk factor interventions in obesity prevention research, the current state of mental health prevention, and the implications of current applications of systems thinking in obesity prevention research for lifestyle interventions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We propose a potential focus for future mental health promotion interventions and emphasise the importance of lessons available from other lifestyle modification intervention programmes.
authors.forename: Joshua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hayward
authors.forename: Felice N
authors.initials: FN
authors.lastname: Jacka
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Waters
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Allender
mesh_terms: D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004032:Diet; D015444:Exercise; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D009765:Obesity / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012307:Risk Factors; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior