Assessment of the Correlation Between Obesity and Depression Among Adults in Saudi Arabia

Background The prevalence of obesity has increased over the years, resulting in multiple physical and psychological health issues that impact the quality of human life. Numerous Western studies have linked obesity and depression, but few studies have investigated this correlation among the Saudi population. Hence, this study assesses the correlation between obesity and depression among the general population of Saudi Arabia. Methods To conduct this cross-sectional study, we used an electronic questionnaire obtained from previous studies and included the patient health questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) to assess the study sample for depression. We enrolled 766 Saudi adults in our study. The data obtained from the participants was analyzed with IBM SPSS software using the chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, ANOVA, and binary logistic regression. Results The majority of the participants were female (n = 391, 51%), aged between 18 and 25 years (n = 498, 65.0%). In terms of BMI, 18.3% were obese (n = 140). Regarding depressive symptoms assessment, 30% showed mild depression, making this the most prevalent category. Moderate depression was represented by 22.6% of the participants. The highest mean depressive symptom score was seen in the obese group (BMI ≥ 30.0), with a mean score of 10.04 (SD = 6.9). Conclusion A significant correlation was detected between the highest mean depressive symptom score and obesity, and psychological disorders or chronic disease also showed a significant association with depression.