One of the clinical symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder is loss
of appetite. Sometimes the appetite loss is so extreme that people loose
significant amounts of weight. A key feature of the loss of appetite is
that food becomes less appealing, less tasty and therefore less of a motivator
to eat. For some teens who experience Major Depressive Disorder they even
can’t be bothered eating their favorite foods, such as pizza or chicken
wings. However, one thing that we do not know very much about is whether
this loss of appetite has an effect on nutrition.
A recent study (Davidson and Kaplan, BMC
Psychiatry, 2012) evaluated the nutritional status of self-reported diets in
people who were Depressed. The results showed some interesting
differences compared to existing population information about diet.
People suffering from depression ate significantly fewer amounts of: grains,
vegetables and fruit and some macronutrients. They also ate significantly
larger amounts of: processed meats; sugar; fat; salt.
So what does this mean? Actually I do
not really know. It likely does not mean that the diet caused or is
perpetuating the Depression. Is the diet helping the Depression?
That we can also not answer. Does this mean that people who are
experiencing a Depression should pay extra attention to their nutrition?
That seems to me to be a reasonable thing to do.
-Stan
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