OVERWEIGHT AND DEPRESSION

Is being overweight distressing? If it is, is the distress due to nega tive appraisals by others, to the stresses of trying to fit norms of t hinness by dieting, or to the health consequences of being overweight? If being overweight is stigmatizing, negative evaluations by others m ay be internalized as high levels of depression. This perspective pred icts that being overweight has a direct effect on depression, and that the effect is greater in social groups where being overweight is less common, especially among women, Whites, younger people, the well-educ ated, and the well-to-do. Alternatively, overweight may not be distres sing per se. Instead, attempting to fit norms of appearance that equat e thinness with attractiveness by dieting is distressing. According to this perspective, the association between being overweight and depres sion is explained by dieting. Finally, this association may be due to the health consequences of being overweight. A random sample of 2,020 U.S. adults aged 18-90 were interviewed by telephone in 1990. Results showed that being overweight has no direct effect on depression in any social group except among the well-educated. Overweight persons are m ore likely to diet and to experience worse physical health, both of wh ich are associated with depression. Combined, these explain the negati ve effects of being overweight on depression.