The study is the first to examine how these three phenomena relate to one another over time in young adults. Almost half of the men and women in the study suffered from at least one of these conditions between the ages of 21 and 30. At age 21, 8 percent of women and 12 percent of men had a least two of these three problems.
Over time, the researchers discovered, having more than one of these problems became more likely for women and less likely for men. The researchers found that women who had alcohol abuse problems at age 24 were nearly four times as likely to be obese at age 27, and that being obese at age 27 more than doubled the risk of developing depression by age 30. The same patterns were not found in men.
The study also found that lower-income individuals of both sexes were more likely to suffer from obesity and depression.
Dr. Carolyn A. McCarty, the study's lead researcher, described the study as "the tip of the iceberg," indicating that the researchers may have hit upon an important and largely unexplored relationship among these three problems in women.
(Source: www.reuters.com)
Labels: obesity, depression, alcohol abuse
Posted By: Aspen Education Group