iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Nearly 1 in 12 people suffer from depression in the U.S., but for those seeking bariatric surgery for weight loss, that rate may be almost double.
While weight loss surgery can improve one’s physical health, can it also help one’s mental health?
A team of researchers reviewed 68 previously published studies and found that after bariatric surgery, depression symptoms tended to be milder and people were less likely to be depressed. Their findings were published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
This does not necessarily mean that weight loss surgery itself improves depression — it may just mean that positive effects from improved body image, better interpersonal relationships, and/or changes in digestion after surgery have that effect.
No matter the exact cause, severely obese people who undergo weight loss surgery seem to reap psychological benefits along with the physical improvements.
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