Obesity-Depression Link and Indian Adolescents: An Empirical Study

This study examined the impact of obesity on severity of depression of obese and non-obese adolescent boys and girls. The study involved 2 (obese versus non-obese) x 2 (adolescent boys versus adolescent girls) factorial design. The participants of these four groups were compared with respect to their scores on the Beck's Depression Inventory. Sixty obese and sixty non-obese adolescents (aged 14-19 yrs) were purposively sampled from various educational institutions and gymnasia. For this study both overweight and obese adolescents on the basis of their BMI, WHO classification of obese was followed. Analysis of data indicated that obese individuals possessed higher level of depression as compared to non-obese individuals. Adolescent girls' severity of depression was higher than that of adolescent boys. Though the findings are not new and has been revealed in several western studies, the current study focuses on the Indian context of it.