CHICAGO, Apr 29, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Depression is linked to the
accumulation of belly fat, the kind of fat packed between internal organs at the
waistline, U.S. researchers said.
Belly fat, also known as visceral fat, has long been known to increase the risk
of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Principal investigator Lynda Powell of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago
said that the study included 409 middle-age women, about half African-American
and half Caucasian, who were participating in the Women in the South Side Health
Project in Chicago.
Depressive symptoms were assessed using a common screening test, and visceral
fat measured with a CT scan. Waist size is often used as a proxy for the amount
of visceral fat, it is an inaccurate measure because it includes subcutaneous
fat, or fat deposited just beneath the skin.
The study, published online and ahead of print of the May issue of Psychosomatic
Medicine, found that the researchers found a strong correlation between
depression and visceral fat, particularly among overweight and obese women. The
results were the same even when the analysis adjusted for other variables that
might explain the accumulation of visceral fat, such as the level of physical
activity.
The study found no association between depressive symptoms and subcutaneous fat.
The findings were the same for both black and white women, the researchers said.
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