The influence of weight loss interventions on psycho-emotional state of young men with obesity

Aim. To assess the relationship of psychoemotional changes with obesity in young men, depending on the age of manifestation of the disease and against the background of the program of weight loss.

Materials and methods. The study included 48 young men with obesity, aged 17 to 24 years. The subjects were divided into two groups. Group A consisted of 26 men with manifestation of obesity since childhood, group B – 22 patients with onset of the disease from puberty. Subsequently, the study patients were subdivided depending on the type of obesity treatment (complex and non-pharmacological). The psychological status and anthropometric parameters were assessed on screening and after 12 weeks of treatment.

Results. Depressive disorders were initially observed in 40.9% of patients in group B and in 19.2% of patients in group A. In young men who underwent complex treatment of obesity, regardless of the time of manifestation of the disease, a clinically significant decrease in symptoms of depression was revealed. All types of eating behavior were revealed in the subjects, and these manifestations are more common in patients with manifestation of the disease since childhood. In group A, the restrained eating was in 50% of young men, external eating in 42.3%, and emotional eating in 30.7%. In group B, emotional eating in 9% of patients, external eating in 40.9%, and restrained eating in 31.8% of young obese men.

Conclusion. In the group of patients with manifestation of obesity since puberty, the frequency of depressive disorders was higher than in the group of young men with onset of obesity since childhood.