Depression and food consumption in Mexican college students

Abstract Introduction: depression is frequently accompanied by overeating and a preference for certain foods that may consequently lead to weight gain. Objectives: a) to determine the prevalence of depression and the consumption of unhealthy food in first-year college students; and b) to analyze the association between depression score and food consumption frequency. Methods: a cross-sectional study was carried out in 1,104 freshman students, 40.3% men and 59.7% women, at a public university in Mexico City. The 20-item depression scale (CES-D) and Food Frequency Questionnaire were applied to measure depressive symptoms and food consumption. Logistic regression analysis was carried out for food consumption frequency and CES-D depression score grouped in quartiles. Results: the prevalence of depression symptoms was 18.2% in men and 27.5% in women (p < 0.001). A considerable proportion of the students reported poor eating habits: consumption of fried food (30.3%), sweetened drinks (49.0%) and sugary food (51.8%) 2-7 times/week; and less than half the students practiced vigorous physical activity (39.7%). In women, a higher depression score was associated with a higher frequency of consumption of fast food (OR = 2.08, p = 0.018), fried food (OR = 1.92, p = 0.01) and sugary food (OR = 2.16, p = 0.001), and a lower frequency of physical exercise (< 75 min/week; OR = 1.80, p = 0.017). In men, no association was observed between depression score and food consumption variables. An association was observed between depression and low exercise frequency (OR = 2.22, p = 0.006). Conclusions: women vulnerable to depression may use food to cope with negative mood states. Therefore, institutional health promotion and nutritional education programs should include adequate emotion and stress management.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Lazarevich,Irina, Irigoyen-Camacho,Maria Esther, Velázquez-Alva,Maria Consuelo, Lara-Flores,Norma, Nájera-Medinaand,Oralia, Zepeda-Zepeda,Marco A.
Format:	Digital revista
Language:	English
Published:	Grupo Arán 2018
Online Access:	http://scielo.isciii.es/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0212-16112018000300620
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