title: Subjective mood and energy levels of healthy weight and overweight/obese healthy adults on high-and low-glycemic load experimental diets.
abstract: Emerging evidence suggests a positive association of diet and obesity with depression. Researchers have examined several diet-mood hypotheses, including investigating the extent to which carbohydrates may impact mood. There is limited research on how glycemic load, a characteristic of carbohydrates, impacts mood in healthy adults. Eighty-two healthy weight and overweight/obese, but otherwise healthy, adults enrolled in a randomized, crossover controlled feeding study testing low-compared to high-glycemic load diets. All participants completed self-report mood and energy level questionnaires during each arm of the intervention. Diets were isocaloric and were matched by macronutrient content as a percent of total energy. Mood was assessed with the Profile of Mood States (POMS) subscales; tension-anxiety, depression-dejection, anger-hostility, vigor-activity, fatigue-inertia, and confusion-bewilderment, total mood disturbance (TMD), and negative affect (NA) in addition to the Center for Epidemiological Studies - Depression (CES-D) scale at baseline and end of both 28-day feeding periods. Linear mixed models tested the intervention effect on mood, controlling for baseline POMS and CES-D scores, diet type, diet sequence, feeding period, sex, and percent body fat classification. The consumption of the high-glycemic load diet resulted in a 38% higher score for depressive symptoms on the CES-D (P = 0.002) compared to the low-glycemic load diet as well as 55% higher score for TMD (P = 0.05), and 26% higher score for fatigue/inertia (P = 0.04). In subgroup analyses, the overweight/obese participants had 40% higher scores on the CES-D scale compared to healthy weight participants (P = 0.05). In conclusion, a high-glycemic load diet was associated with higher depression symptoms, total mood disturbance, and fatigue compared to a low-glycemic load diet especially in overweight/obese, but otherwise healthy, adults. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov: NCT00622661.
authors: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Division of Public Health Sciences, Seattle, WA, 98109, United States. Electronic address: kbreymey@fredhutch.org.
authors: Kara L
authors: KL
authors: Breymeyer
authors: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Division of Public Health Sciences, Seattle, WA, 98109, United States. Electronic address: jlampe@fredhutch.org.
authors: Johanna W
authors: JW
authors: Lampe
authors: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Division of Public Health Sciences, Seattle, WA, 98109, United States. Electronic address: bonnie@orionskywellness.org.
authors: Bonnie A
authors: BA
authors: McGregor
authors: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Division of Public Health Sciences, Seattle, WA, 98109, United States. Electronic address: mneuhous@fredhutch.org.
authors: Marian L
authors: ML
authors: Neuhouser
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D003863:Depression; D004032:Diet; D005221:Fatigue; D005260:Female; D000067940:Glycemic Load; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000378:metabolism / Q000523:psychology*; D050177:Overweight / Q000378:metabolism / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Controlled trial; Depression; Diet; Glycemic index; Humans; Obesity