Correlates of Snacking with Stress and Depression in Obese and Non-obeseWomen

Background: The prevalence of obesity has steadily increased and now more than 50% of adults have obesity. The relation between obesity, psychological factors and snack consumption has been debated for decades. Objective: Our study was conducted to investigate the relation between snacking with stress/depression among separate groups of obese and non-obese women. Method: In this case-control study, 46 obese and 94 normal weight women, aged 17-44, were recruited using a convenience random sampling method. Participants completed the Beck Depression Inventory II, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale and food frequency questionnaires. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used for analysis. Results: The adjusted odds ratio (OR) of obesity increased across tertiles of fresh fruits (OR: 14.1, 95% CI: 2.8- 71.3). The adjusted OR of stress increased across tertiles of fruit juices (OR: 0.04, CI: 1.3-19.8) and the adjusted OR of depression decreased significantly in the third as compared to the first tertile of fresh fruits in the control group (OR: 0.03, 95% CI: 0.03-0.8). Discussion: Fruit consumption increases the odds of obesity. The relation between snacks consumed and stress/ depression is body weight dependent.