Overweight Tied to Depression in Children, Obesity in Adults, Umbrella Meta-Analysis Finds

A new umbrella meta-analysis, published in Eating and Weight Disorders – Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity, set out to resolve this uncertainty by synthesizing the findings of previous meta-analyses rather than individual studies, because earlier meta-analyses examining the association between overweight, obesity, and depression had reported inconsistent findings.

The research team, led by Sanaz Asemani and Meysam Zarezadeh, searched five major databases – EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, the Cochrane Central Library, and PubMed – for studies published up to January 2025. Their search identified thirteen meta-analyses that had examined the association between overweight, obesity, and depression. The team pooled these results using random-effects models, a statistical approach that accounts for variation between studies, and carried out subgroup and sensitivity analyses to probe sources of heterogeneity and test how robust the findings were.

The headline result concerns children. According to the analysis, children with overweight had higher odds of depression than children of normal weight, with an odds ratio of 1.22 and a 95 percent confidence interval of 1.05 to 1.42. In practical terms, this means the pooled evidence points to a modest but statistically reliable elevation in the likelihood of depression among children classified as overweight, since the entire confidence interval lies above 1.0.

Among adults, the picture was more nuanced. No significant association was observed between overweight and depression in adult populations, with an odds ratio of 1.00 and a confidence interval of 0.88 to 1.13 – a range that includes the value of no effect. This suggests that, across the meta-analyses reviewed, being overweight but not obese was not reliably linked to depression in adulthood.

Obesity, however, told a different story. Adults with obesity had higher odds of depression than adults with normal weight, with an odds ratio of 1.23 and a 95 percent confidence interval of 1.03 to 1.46. As with the finding in children, the confidence interval excludes 1.0, indicating a statistically significant positive association, albeit one of modest magnitude.

Beyond these quantitative estimates, the qualitative evidence reviewed by the authors suggested positive associations between depression and obesity in both children and adults. The synthesis also flagged a possible bidirectional association during adolescence – meaning the relationship may run in both directions, with depression potentially contributing to weight gain as well as obesity raising the risk of depressive symptoms during that developmental window.

The authors are careful to emphasize the limitations of their synthesis. They note that substantial heterogeneity – statistical variability across the included meta-analyses – and methodological limitations in some of the underlying analyses should be considered when interpreting the findings.

The work was graded as Level I evidence, the category assigned to systematic reviews and meta-analyses, and the article is published open access. The authors note that overweight, obesity, and depression are all major public health concerns, and that previous meta-analyses examining their association had reported inconsistent findings – the very inconsistency this umbrella analysis was designed to address.

For researchers and clinicians, the synthesis suggests that the weight-depression link may differ by age group and by weight category: strongest for overweight in childhood and for obesity in adulthood, and not statistically evident for overweight in adults. The authors also caution that because the published version is an early-release, peer-reviewed accepted article, it remains subject to further editorial edits before the final version of record appears.

Subject of Research: The association of overweight and obesity with depression in adults and children

Article Title: The association of overweight and obesity with depression in adults and children: findings from an umbrella meta-analysis

Article References: Asemani, S., Ghalichi, F., Jamilian, P., Ebrahimi-Mameghani, M., & Zarezadeh, M. (2026). The association of overweight and obesity with depression in adults and children: findings from an umbrella meta-analysis. Eating and Weight Disorders – Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-026-01913-w

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s40519-026-01913-w

Keywords: obesity, overweight, depression, umbrella meta-analysis, children, adults, adolescence, mental health, systematic review, public health, association, findings