1.
Does diet-induced weight change effect anxiety in overweight and obese adults?
Eyres, SL, Turner, AI, Nowson, CA, Torres, SJ
Nutrition (Burbank, Los Angeles County, Calif.). 2014;(1):10-5
Abstract
Anxiety is the most prevalent type of mental disorder and a significant health concern. Cross-sectional studies have detected a positive association between obesity and anxiety. What is less clear is whether weight loss can reduce anxiety. We sought to answer three questions: 1. Can weight loss improve symptoms of anxiety in the overweight and obese population? 2. Does the macronutrient content of energy-restricted diets that induce weight loss affect anxiety? 3. Is the change in anxiety related to the amount of weight lost? We investigated the findings from seven interventional studies, which induced weight loss by dietary intervention, in overweight and obese individuals, using established anxiety assessment tools. Mean weight loss ranged from 0.7 to 18.6 kg (SD 4.5) and in three of the studies, anxiety fell by 9.2% to 11.4% and did not change in four studies. When macronutrient content was considered, only one of four interventional studies and one pilot study reported a beneficial effect of a moderate-fat diet on anxiety. There appears to be no strong evidence to indicate that diet-induced weight loss has a beneficial effect on anxiety, however, none of the diet-induced weight loss studies assessed had a detrimental effect on anxiety.
2.
Effect of a weight-loss program on mental stress-induced cardiovascular responses and recovery.
Torres, SJ, Nowson, CA
Nutrition (Burbank, Los Angeles County, Calif.). 2007;(7-8):521-8
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Abstract
OBJECTIVE We assessed the effect of weight loss on blood pressure (BP) and pulse rate during rest, psychological stress, and recovery after stress. METHODS Two groups of men completed two mental stress tests 12 wk apart. The control group continued their usual diet, whereas the weight-loss group underwent a dietary weight-loss program in which they were randomized to a high-fruit/vegetable and low-fat dairy diet or a low-fat diet. RESULTS Fifty-five men with a baseline BP of 125.9 +/- 6.9/83.6 +/- 7.1 mmHg (mean +/- SD) completed the study (weight-loss group, n = 28; control group, n = 27). The weight-loss group lost weight (mean +/- SEM, -4.3 +/- 0.3 versus +0.4 +/- 0.4 kg, P = 0.001) compared with controls and had a significant decrease in resting systolic BP (SBP; -2.0 +/- 1.1% versus +2.0 +/- 1.1%, P < 0.05). There was a greater decrease in SBP (P < 0.05) and pulse rate (P < 0.05) at all time points during the stress test in the weight loss compared with the control group. At week 12, SBP in 23 (82%) subjects in the weight-loss group and 24 (89%) in the control group returned to resting levels, with recovering levels in the weight-loss group returning to resting levels 6.1 +/- 2.6 min earlier than in the control group (P < 0.05). There was an overall greater decrease in diastolic BP (DBP; P < 0.05) and DBP during recovery up to 27 min after stress (P < 0.05) in the high-fruit/vegetable and low-fat dairy diet group (n = 14) compared with the low-fat diet group (n = 14). CONCLUSION A 5% loss of weight decreased BP during rest and returned SBP to resting levels faster, thus decreasing the period of increased BP as a result of mental stress, which is likely to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease in the long term.