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Do Anxiety Disorders Play a Role in Adolescent Obesity?

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Annals of Behavioral Medicine

Abstract

Background

There have been few prospective studies on the association between anxiety disorders and adolescent obesity; none examine potential reciprocal effects.

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the prospective association between anxiety disorders and obesity among adolescents.

Methods

Using data from a two-wave, prospective study of 3134 adolescents, we examined reciprocal effects between body weight and DSM-IV anxiety disorders.

Results

Weight status did not increase future risk of anxiety disorders nor did anxiety disorders at baseline increase risk of future obesity in the overall sample. Stratifying by gender revealed an increased risk of overweight and obesity in males with anxiety disorders, but not for females. Major depression did not mediate these associations.

Conclusion

Similar to prospective studies of depression, it appears anxiety disorders may increase risk of obesity. However, more research is needed on the role of psychopathology in adolescent obesity, in particular anxiety disorders and possible moderators (such as gender) and mediators.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported, in part, by Grant Nos. MH 49764 and MH 65606 from the National Institutes of Health awarded to the first author, by the Michael and Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living, and by the University of Texas. The original study, except current analyses and manuscript preparation, was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. UTHealth School of Public Health, San Antonio Regional Campus, 7411 John Smith Drive, Suite 1100, San Antonio, TX, 78229, USA

    Robert E. Roberts Ph.D.

  2. Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living, San Antonio Regional Campus, 7411 John Smith Drive, Suite 1100, San Antonio, TX, 78229, USA

    Robert E. Roberts Ph.D.

  3. University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, San Antonio Regional Campus, 7411 John Smith Drive, Suite 1100, San Antonio, TX, 78229, USA

    Robert E. Roberts Ph.D.

  4. Centers for Disease Control, 5/F 2 Ngo Quyen St., Hoan Kiem, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Hao T. Duong M.D., M.P.H., Dr.P.H.

Authors
  1. Robert E. Roberts Ph.D.
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  2. Hao T. Duong M.D., M.P.H., Dr.P.H.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Robert E. Roberts Ph.D..

Ethics declarations

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

All youths and parents gave written informed consent prior to participation. All study forms and procedures were approved by the University of Texas Health Science Center Committee for Protection of Human Subjects.

Conflicts of interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest.

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Roberts, R.E., Duong, H.T. Do Anxiety Disorders Play a Role in Adolescent Obesity?. ann. behav. med. 50, 613–621 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-016-9786-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-016-9786-8

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