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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2019 May 28;11(6):1206.
doi: 10.3390/nu11061206.

Changes in Anxiety and Depression Traits Induced by Energy Restriction: Predictive Value of the Baseline Status

Claudia Rodriguez-Lozada  1 , Marta Cuervo  2   3   4 , Amanda Cuevas-Sierra  5 , Leticia Goni  6 , Jose Ignacio Riezu-Boj  7   8 , Santiago Navas-Carretero  9   10 , Fermin Ignacio Milagro  11   12 , Jose Alfredo Martinez  13   14   15
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Changes in Anxiety and Depression Traits Induced by Energy Restriction: Predictive Value of the Baseline Status

Claudia Rodriguez-Lozada et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Current evidence proposes diet quality as a modifiable risk factor for mental or emotional impairments. However, additional studies are required to investigate the effect of dietary patterns and weight loss on improving psychological symptoms. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the effect of energy-restriction, prescribed to overweight and obese participants, on anxiety and depression symptoms, as well as the potential predictive value of some baseline psychological features on weight loss. Overweight and obese participants (n = 305) were randomly assigned for 16 weeks to two hypocaloric diets with different macronutrient distribution: a moderately high-protein (MHP) diet and a low-fat (LF) diet. Anthropometrical, clinical, psychological, and lifestyle characteristics were assessed at baseline and at the end of the intervention. The nutritional intervention evidenced that weight loss has a beneficial effect on trait anxiety score in women (β = 0.24, p = 0.03), depression score in all population (β = 0.15, p = 0.02), particularly in women (β = 0.22, p = 0.03) and in subjects who followed the LF diet (β = 0.22, p = 0.04). Moreover, weight loss could be predicted by anxiety status at baseline, mainly in women and in those who were prescribed a LF diet. This trial suggests that weight loss triggers an improvement in psychological traits, and that anxiety symptoms could predict those volunteers that benefit most from a balanced calorie-restricted intervention, which will contribute to individualized precision nutrition.

Keywords: anxiety; depression; hypocaloric diet; macronutrient distribution; overweight; weight loss.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest concerning this research.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of study population. Abbreviations: STAI = State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; BDI = Beck Depression Inventory.
Figure 2
Figure 2
General schedule of the study.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Relationship between weight loss and change in Trait Anxiety score in women, adjusted by age, diet and smoking habit.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Relationship between weight loss and change in depression score in all participants, women and Low-Fat diet group, adjusted by age, diet, and smoking habit.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Mean weight loss in participants with lower and higher Trait Anxiety score at baseline. The p-value was calculated by unpaired Student’s t-test.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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