Does adolescent depression predict obesity in black and white young adult women?
GROUND: To examine whether adolescent depressive symptoms predict young adult body mass index (BMI) and obesity in black and white women. METHOD: Participants included 1554 black and white adolescent girls from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study (NGHS) who completed the Center for Epidemiological Studies–Depression Scale (CES-D) at ages 16 and 18 years. RESULTS: Regression analyses showed that depressive symptoms at both ages 16 and 18 were associated with increased risk of obesity (BMI > or = 30) and elevated BMI in young adulthood (age 21) in both black and white girls. Black girls exhibited a significantly greater likelihood of obesity and higher BMI (i.e. a main effect of race), but the race x CES-D interaction was not significant in any analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Depressive symptoms in adolescence appear to be predictive of obesity and elevated BMI in early adulthood for both black and white girls, even when taking prior BMI into account, indicating
