That's Because We're Jolly
Fat people less likely to commit suicide, says study.
"But scientists behind the study have warned those who suffer from depression not to intentionally increase their weight to combat it."
Don't worry, we all know people would rather be dead than fat!
"But scientists behind the study have warned those who suffer from depression not to intentionally increase their weight to combat it."
Don't worry, we all know people would rather be dead than fat!
posted by mo pie at 7:26 PM
5 Comments:
I love the poll that comes with the article: "Do you think dieters are unhappy? Yes/No". What, no "discuss"?
It all seems rather at odds with the research which suggests that getting a lot of exercise has as good an effect, statistically, as anti-depressants. Anecdotally, I'd say this is true (my boyfriend is depressed, does a lot better when he goes running a lot, and incidentally is naturally thin).
Maybe the trick is to be one of those people who can do a lot of exercise and still remain quite chunky? That explains why I don't have depression, then!
A commenter on Big Fat Blog had some interesting comments on whether fat is the cause or part of the effect. Basically s/he said weight loss can by a symptom of depression, there is a higher rate of suicide among bi-polar and schizophrenic people who aren't known for being able to take the best care of themselves, and the elderly have higher rates of suicide and their eating habits may differ from the young. Also, anti-depressants which might prevent suicide can also cause weight gain.
My knee-jerk reaction to this is to run around in circles screaming CORRELATION IS NOT CAUSALITY!!
OK, now I'm done screaming, I'll explain. I just took a refresher course in statistics, and one thing that was repeated several times is that if you observe a correlation in data trends, you cannot assume a causal relationship between the two effects. Causal relationships can only be established by experiments, not data observation.
Electricity bills go up in the summer, purchases of cold drinks also go up in the summer. Does the increase in electricity usage cause people to buy more cold drinks?
The people in this article are trying to manufacture a causal relationship because they found an inverse correlation between suicide rates and BMI. Pastaqueen has already pointed out some factors which could lead to this inverse correlation. However, the important thing is to remember that just because two things seem to go together, doesn't mean one makes the other happen.
Perhaps people with suicidal tendencies also punish themselves with "dieting", the whole dieting mentality has a certain element of self punishment. Perhaps overweight people deal with their emotions through overeating, and it's successful enough that they might get overweight, but they don't become suicidal.
Yeah, I forgot to mention that these statistics look pretty specious to me.
Jen - you're quite right about SSRIs. The boyf and I were rather puzzled when we first read the blurb that comes with Prozac, which says (in different places) that it may be prescribed for anorexia sufferers, and that it may cause weight loss.
It's true, also, that depression may cause a lack of interest in eating which causes weight loss, though this is not deliberate dieting and there may be no associated body-image problem. Indeed, a sudden change in weight - in either direction - is one of the diagnostic symptoms of depression.
And RG's comment made me think of the "Baptist preachers cause drunkenness" fallacy...
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