Diets with fewer calories might lead to an increase in depression symptoms.
Let's explore the impact of dieting on your mental health – a fascinating look at how calorie and nutrient restriction may affect depression symptoms.
Researchers from Toronto, Canada dived into the relationship between dieting and depression symptoms. Their study aimed to uncover whether certain types of diets could potentially harm your mental health.
The majority of American adults grapple with being overweight or having obesity, as per current guidelines. To shed those extra pounds, folks try various methods, including making dietary changes or using medications.
One pitfall some might fall into is excessive calorie or nutrient restriction. Although mainstream advice suggests cutting 500 to 1,000 calories per day to lose 1 to 2 pounds per week, some enthusiasts go all-in with extreme dieting, chopping their calorie count drastically or sticking to a single food group like the carnivore diet.
Though weight loss can be crucial for some, it's essential to maintain a healthy approach to dieting. Surprisingly, certain dieting methods can cause physical health problems, and now we'll delve into potential mental health concerns, as the study mentioned above addresses.
The study's findings were published in BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health.
Diet and Mental Health –the Connection
Depression is a common affliction that impacts millions of people each year. In the United States, cases of depression are on the rise, according to recent data. About 18.4% of adults in America have received a depression diagnosis as of 2020, according to reports from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).
Authors of the study noted that research suggests that eating healthy foods can support your mental health, while processed foods may contribute to its deterioration. However, there's a dearth of information on calorie and nutrient restriction, which the researchers wanted to fill in.
They analyzed data from 28,525 adult participants to categorize them into four groups:
- calorie-restricted diet
- nutrient-restricted diet
- established medical dietary pattern, such as the DASH diet
- no diet
The researchers compared how these groups responded to depression assessments, taking factors such as body mass index (BMI) and biological sex into account.
Men on Low-Calorie Diets – Highest Mental Health Risk
The team discovered that the diet category the participants belonged to had an impact on their depressive symptoms. Roughly 7.79% of participants reported having depressive symptoms.
Those in the calorie-restriction group showed higher overall depressive symptoms, with an increase in PHQ-9 scores by 0.29 points compared to the other groups. This increase was more pronounced among participants with a higher BMI within the calorie-restriction group, whose average PHQ-9 score was 0.46 points higher.
Perhaps even more concerning was a correlation found in overweight individuals in the nutrient-restriction group. Although this group didn't report a higher PHQ-9 score on average, overweight people following this diet had a higher PHQ-9 score of 0.61 points.
The researchers also observed some associations that depended on the biological sex of the participants. In men, all three dietary patterns were associated with higher somatic symptom scores. Men on a nutrient-restricted diet were also more likely to experience an increase in cognitive-affective symptoms.
The authors of the study believe these associations may be attributed to men having higher caloric needs and not meeting their nutritional requirements through their food intake.
Why Might Calorie Restriction Impact Mental Health?
According to Amy Roethler, RDN, LD, a dietitian and nutritionist for Newport Healthcare's PrairieCare program, who didn't participate in the research, the study adds weight to the idea that significant calorie restriction might lead to adverse impacts on one's mental health, specifically depression symptoms.
From her experience working with patients, Roethler notes that they tend not to pay much attention to their nutrient intake but instead focus on restricting calories. Once individuals start making changes to their diet, eating more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats, and lean proteins, they usually start to feel better, resulting in sustained changes.
Roethler advises primary care providers who are working with patients trying to lose weight and who also have a history of depression to refer their patients to registered dieticians for guidance.
Timothy Frie, MS, CNE, a neuronutritionist and nutritional psychology researcher, also weighed in on the study, stating that calorie restriction might lead to mental health consequences due to inadequate nutrient sufficiency. Cutting calories or entire food groups may result in deficiencies in B vitamins, iron, omega-3 fatty acids, and complex carbohydrates – crucial for neurochemical processes that regulate mood and emotions.
On this note, the study authors aim to investigate specific nutritional deficits that may occur with dieting and assess their impact on depressive symptoms.
According to a study published in BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health, excessive calorie or nutrient restriction through dieting can potentially exacerbate depressive symptoms. The researchers analyzed data from 28,525 adult participants and categorized them into four groups: calorie-restricted diet, nutrient-restricted diet, established medical dietary pattern like DASH diet, and no diet. They found that participants in the calorie-restriction group showed higher overall depressive symptoms, with an increase in PHQ-9 scores. Men on low-calorie diets were particularly at a higher risk, with an average PHQ-9 score that was 0.46 points higher than other groups. Overweight individuals following a nutrient-restricted diet also showed higher PHQ-9 scores. Dietitians and nutritionists suggest that an emphasis on meeting nutritional requirements through food intake, rather than just calorie restriction, may help mitigate these mental health risks. The study authors are now investigating specific nutritional deficits that may occur with dieting and their impact on depressive symptoms. This research underscores the need for a balanced approach to health-and-wellness, particularly for those pursuing fitness-and-exercise and nutrition, to consider the potential effects on both physical and mental health.
