Treat obesity and depression simultaneously

Read on to know about a new study that can help to treat both obesity and depression at the same time.

According to a new intervention, people may both lose weight and improve upon their symptoms of depression at the same time.

It is quite common to find people with obesity struggling with depression and vice versa, which may increase the risk for them to lead an unhealthy life and decrease their life quality. Until now, both of these conditions were treated separately but now a group of researchers has developed a program that will help to both treat the symptoms of depression and assist in weight loss at the same time.

In this study, the researchers enrolled about 400 people for a period of 12 months, which included 6 months of intensive treatment and another 6 months of maintenance. The test group was treated by bringing about certain changes in their dietary habits, physical activity pattern, and administrating anti-depressants if needed.

After a period of 12 months, people reported a modest reduction in both their body weight and symptoms of depression. However, further research needs to be done to ascertain the long term effects of this study and also establish the effect of these changes on people of different ethnicities.

This study was published in JAMA and promotes a holistic approach to treat people with multiple health problems. In fact, integrated treatments and interventions, such as the one we have shared about, are highly beneficial in treating coexisting health conditions and are the future of medicine.